Amazing World of Gumball: Going to High School
by Caelum T. Myers
Summary: Gumball and gang are leaving Elmore Junior High. What's next for Gumball? Will he and Penny finally be an item? Will new romance bloom? What will High school be like? One thing is for sure; as Gumball and his friends grow up, the adventures and problems they have will grow with them. Hope you join us as Gumball's misadventure continues.
1. The Fall

**I do not own TAWoG or any of the characters herein. They are the intellectual property of whichever entity can legally make that claim (most importantly not me). This is a fan fiction written by Caelum T. Myers.**

Sqeeeee!

The hinges complained as Gumball Watterson opened his locker and mentally cataloged its contents: a comb, two pens, a carefully folded piece of paper, a slightly crumpled drawing, and a picture taped to the wall in the back. He'd already returned his school books and this is all there was left. He sighed and set to work.

The comb and pens went in his pocket. Next he picked up the folded note and opened it up. There, in faded letters, were words he had read nearly a thousand times; _Would you be the jelly in my peanut butter sandwich?_ Reading them always made his heart pound. Penny's note had been hard to find. Gumball had spent 3 days going though the school dumpster before he found it. But it was worth it. He had a mega crush in the girl since 6th grade and this note was the first real evidence that she might like him too. After a moment, he carefully refolded the note and tucked it safely into his wallet.

Gumball frowned at the crumpled drawing. He thought about just throwing it away, but curiosity got the better of him, and he soon found himself staring at a ludicrously handsome version of himself. His muscles were greatly exaggerated, as usual, but at least he had his shirt on in this one. The image was very flattering. Really there was only one problem with it. His bodywas pressed tightly against the form of Sarah. _Sarah._ She had been stuffing these into his locker ever since he and Darwin had acted out her stupid script. Irritated, he crumpled the drawing and sent it to join its predecessors in the trash.

"Wow, she's getting good." On his right, Gumball saw his pseudo-brother, Darwin Raglan Caspian Ahab Poseidon Nicodemius Watterson III. Noticing Gumball, Darwin smiled, "Hey, dude. Whacha get this time?" He held up his own paper, revealing an underwater scene. He and Sarah were suspended in a colorful coral reef. Darwin's likeness was also ridiculously handsome and muscular. Gumball did have to admit that the rest of the drawing was almost lifelike. He shrugged, and pointed at the trash. "Make-out scene against the lockers", he said before he reached into his locker to retrieve the final item; their 6th grade class photo.

Gumball stared at the picture, amazed at how everyone had changed. He scanned the rows of faces until he found the one he wanted. He smiled as he took in his younger self - short, stubby legs and a head way too big for the rest of him. Thankfully, the last 3 years had evened him out... OK, so his head was still a _little_ big. He was 15 now and at nearly 5'10", he'd managed to be taller than most of his classmates. His coat had darkened a bit and now his fur was a deep navy blue. Thanks to Coach, he'd even buffed up a little, but his cat body tended more toward lithe and sleek than powerful. He gave up his trademark sweater a while back and now he favored t-shirts and and the occasional hoody. Secretly, he thought t-shirts showed off his body better. He still didn't wear shoes, though.

Next to him, then as now, was Darwin. Darwin had changed radically. No one knew what to expect given that there hadn't been any other cases of pet goldfish growing legs and learning to breath air. At 13, he stood 5'6" with a streamlined body and long legs. The kid was built for seep in _or_ out of the water. Darwin's body had lengthened and curved until it was roughly "S" shaped. This had effectively given him a chest. His fins had also developed spiny digits that passed for fingers. He had begun wearing clothes shortly after growing a chest. His new posture had unexpectedly exposed parts of him. Gumball smiled at the memory. It was the first time Darwin had to wear that embarrassing blur. He had taken to wearing sweatshirts and other baggy tops to accommodate his unusual shape. His pants had to be tailored to allow his now longer tail to be free. He still felt naked without his shoes though.

"...hellooo? Dude?", Darwin's voice cut into Gumball's thoughts and brought him back to reality.

"Huh?... What? Oh! Sorry, what did you say, bro?", Gumball asked, looking at his brother.

Darwin sighed, "I said, what are looking at? You've been staring at that thing for, like, 5 minutes and haven't heard a word I said."

"Oh, just an old picture, man. It's from a couple of years ago, near the end of 6th grade", Gumball said and held the picture up so the fish boy could see it.

"Pft... man, I forgot how small and dorky you used to be..." Darwin's voice ended in a now rare squeak as he tried to keep from laughing and failed. "Ha ha ha!"

"Grrr, what the what are you laughing at? I seem to remember _that_ little fish boy," Gumball growled and poked at his brother's younger image for emphasis, "falling madly in love with that small dorky kid just because he was wearing A DRESS!"

Darwin crossed his arms and tried to look angry but tears rolled down his face as he broke into sobs. "That was really low, man. I was in love. Why did you take that away from me?!" Darwin bawled. He had never quite gotten over his crush, even when Gumball finally admitted what had happened.

Gumball sighed. "Oh maan. Look, I'm sorry, dude, but it wasn't real."

"It _was_ real... to me." Darwin whispered, tapping himself on the chest. Gumball hugged him and pet his head, "I know... I'm sorry, buddy." "It's OK, I forgive you." They both sighed contentedly.

"Oh hey, did you say you tried to tell me something earlier?" Gumball asked.

"Oh yeah, dude. Did you pass? Come on, how'd you do? How'd you do?" Darwin jumped up and down flapping his fin-arms.

"Calm down, dude! Here, see for your self." Gumball smuggly handed over his final report card.

Math C

Science C+

History B

English A

Home Ec B+

Geography D-

Sport A

Music A

"Dude, you got an A in Music? You've barely been passing that class." Darwin had worried about Gumball's grade all semester. Gumball needed that credit to advance, and he had failed Music most of 6th grade.

"Finally found my instrument, bro. Apparently, I have a superb sense of rhythm. I just couldn't keep all the different notes straight. So, I talked to Miss Cello, she put me on a drum. Once I didn't have to worry about figuring out different notes, I did pretty well. Hmm, simple actually." Gumball shrugged, "The final was, like, 90% of the grade and all I had to do was play a sheet of music to prove I could read it."

"Bro, that's fin-flappin-tastic! You remember what Mrs. Mom said? Erhmm," Darwin cleared his throat before continuing in a near perfect impression of Nicole Watterson. "Look, Gumball, I'll tell you what. You bring me a report card with at least 3 A's on it and NO F's, and I'll let you have a car."

Darwin grabbed Gumball by the shirt and yelled, "DO YOU _KNOW_ WHAT THIS MEANS!?"

"Oh ho ho yeah, dude..." Gumball and Darwin did a little hop and pointed at each other before shouting, "OUR OWN CAR!" And began to dance, singing, "Who's got a car?" "We gotta car!" "Whooo, I said, who's got a car?" "We got a car!" Gumball and Darwin were so busy celebrating, they didn't even notice when Carrie popped in a few feet away. After a moment, Gumball saw her, though. She was leaning against her locker, giggling at them dance. Giggling wasn't something the old Carrie would have done. It was a nice byproduct of the many changes she'd undergone.

About six months ago, she had looked exactly the as she always had... until she had hit something she called ghost puberty. Now she stood just a few inches shorter than Gumball. On legs no less. She had matured in a single day. Her hair now reached the middle of her back but she still had those bangs over left eye. With her ghostly grey eyes and a full, curvaceous figure, she was sought after by most of the boys in school. She turned them all down, but they kept trying. It so bad that now the only boys she hung out with were Gumball and Darwin. She always said it was because they didn't pressure her. Gumball enjoyed her company even before her change. After her change, she was able to feel and eat, so she'd brightened up a lot and was even more fun to be around. He was happy she could experience what living was like. She deserved it.

Gumball was so caught up in his thoughts and dancing, he was startled when her familiar voice broke through their revelry..

"Hey boys, what's up?" Carrie asked walking up and leaning against the lockers.

As answer, Gumball danced over, handed her his report card, turned to Darwin and shouted "Who's got a car!?"

Darwin spun, did the splits, and answered, "We got a car!"!

Carrie studied the card for a moment. A smile appeared on her face and grew until she was beaming with pride. Turning back to Carrie, Gumball's heart skipped a beat. A blind man would have noticed how beautiful she looked just then. Gumball wasn't blind. Her eyes sparkled with emotion, and her smile was positively radiant. His mouth fell open and his brain stopped working for a second. Unfortunately, that was when Carrie threw her arms opened and flung herself at him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and her weight slammed into him. Of course, he started to fall. Carrie screamed as they toppled backwards.

The fear in that scream ripped through Gumball, awaking a primal instinct in him. His new instinct took over. Pulling Carrie's legs around his waist, he planted one foot behind him, kicked off the ground, and sent them sailing backwards. "Hold tight! " Gumball shouted. With a monumental effort, he overcame their combined center of gravity and brought his legs up and in, spinning them into a backflip. He felt her arms and legs clamp around him as they flipped across the hall. At just the right moment, his feet planted on the opposite wall and he savagely kicked off, this time swinging his legs forward to land on his feet. But the wall was getting close too fast. _Beans_, he thought. He was gonna need to do something.

In a millisecond, he spun them around to face the other way. "Don't let go!" he yelled, unsheathed his claws and put on the brakes. The ear-numbing sound of silverware scratching a plate filled the hall and Gumball fought to find purchase on the ceramic tile. Carrie seemed to have gotten the message. She was clinging to him so hard, he was having trouble breathing. He ground his teeth and strained his claws against the hard surface. Finally, after what felt like an eternity to his aching paws, they stopped. He looked up see Darwin staring at him with his mouth hanging open, still doing the splits.

Down the hall, a group of people stood frozen in the door way with similar expressions and he could have sworn he heard Coach say, "Watterson one, hall zero." before it all caught up to him and he toppled over, passed out.

* * *

Carrie was shaking. The last few seconds replayed in her mind. She was so proud that Gumball had done well, she had hugged him without thinking. Then she felt terrified and screamed as they fell. Then Gumball had done... _that_. Suddenly, he'd swept her up and propelled them into the air. When the view over Gumball's shoulder suddenly changed from a few dented lockers to the ceiling, she squeezed her eyes shut and clung to him even tighter, if that was possible, while he came down on all fours to try to stop them. When they did stop, she looked up just in time to see his eyes roll into the back of his head. Then she had her hands full as she struggled desperately to lower him to the floor without hurting him.

She lay panting against Gumball's chest, trying to recover from the shock of their ordeal, when she heard footsteps. Footsteps running toward her. Slowly, she released Gumball, and shakily sat up. Floating in front of her were two orange legs. She followed the shapely legs up as they swelled into the usual orange, antlered fairy body and found herself looking into the astonished face of Penny Fitzgerald. She was flanked on either side by four other girls: Misami, Teri, Carmen and Molly. Every face had the same shocked expression. Carrie rubbed her arm in embarrassment and looked down. She was surprised to see she was still holding Gumball's report card.

"Uh, hi guys. What's up?" Carries shook and voice trailed off. Coach came running up and pointed at Masami.

"You. Go get the nurse. Krueger, what happened here?" Coach's monotone voice droned..

Carrie was still unsettled and answered rapid fire, "Gumball got good grades and we were celebrating, and I was proud, so I tried to give him a hug, but we started to fall and I screamed, then Gumball did this flip and-"

"We know. We saw him backflip like a boss. How did this happen?" Coach pointed to the four bloody lines starting a few feet away and ending at her and Gumball.

As soon as Carrie saw them, her eyes went to Gumball's paws. Sure enough, they were wet with the dark stain of blood. "Oh, no", Carrie cried, "He's hurt!"Tears filled her eyes as she pointed out his injury. "I think we was trying to stop us so we wouldn't crash." Carrie crossed her arms miserably. She was wracked with guilt and her own hands ached in sympathy.

"Excuse me, please. Where is the injured student? Ah! Watterson. I might have known," the tall figure of the school nurse muttered as she bent down and looked at Gumball's paws. "OK, Coach. I've got it from here. Teri would you be a dear and go get Rocky to clean this floor? Penny, Carrie? Will you help me get him on the stretcher? That's good girls. Now, lift together. Alright, let's get him to the infirmary." The Band-Aid had plenty of practice dealing with this blue cat's messes. She wasted no time in taking control and calming everyone down.

When they reached the infirmary, the nurse turned to the girls. "Please put him on the bed. Thank you girls, you can go now." She turned around and got a few bandages and some tape. When she turned back, she looked surprised to find the girls still huddled together and staring tearfully at her patient. She sighed and made shooing motions at the girls, " I said-"

"Can I stay?" Carrie begged breathlessly. "Please? It's all my fault he got hurt. I need to know that he's okay."

"What about you?" The nurse asked Penny.

"There was an awful lot of blood... I'd really like to stay, if that's alright." Penny shifted nervously and glanced at Gumball.

"Fine, but stay out of the way." The nurse got busy. "Hmm. Lucky boy. Nothing broken... No claws missing. Looks like the floor filed his claws though." She frowned. "Filed them right to the quick. There's the cause for the blood. Alright! I'll get him bandaged up. He won't be able to use his hands for a few days, but he'll be right as rain in a week or two."

As the nurse worked, Carrie and Penny waited anxiously. When Carrie heard the nurse say he would be OK her knees buckled and relief flooded through her as she sank to the floor. "Really? He's going to be OK?" She asked, "Oh, thank goodness." Penny knelt and tried to comfort her friend. When she felt Penny's arm around her, her restraint broke. She began to sob, overcome by an odd mixture of guilt, sorrow, and relief. The nurse watched silently for a few minutes and rolled her eyes.

"Yes, well," the nurse said dryly, "this is all very dramatic, but I think you're overreacting. If you recall, Watterson has been hurt worse than this several times." She handed Carrie a tissue.

"That's true," Carrie sniffed, "but he was never hurt because of me! I made him eat too much a couple of times but I never hurt him!"

"Ugh, don't cry, Carrie." Gumball tried to lift himself up. "It's not - Ouch! - it's not your fault."

"Gumball!" Penny and Carrie rushed over. Carrie punched him in the arm, "What were you thinking? You nearly scared me to re-death!" She saw him wince when she hit him. "Ooooh, sorry! I didn't mean that. Why did you do that Gumball?"

Gumball chuckled. Thinking he was laughing at her, Carrie got ready to hit him again. He held up his bandaged hands, placatingly. "Easy there. I was just laughing cause I know the answer, for once." He shrugged with a grimace. "It was instinct."

Carrie and Penny looked at each other, then back at him with quizzically.

Gumball relaxed and closed his eyes. "Cats," he said simply, "always land on their feet." With that, he fell asleep, leaving the girls to stare dumbfounded at him.

* * *

Miles away, another cat was staring blankly at the body of the woman she had called mother for 15 years. Her mind was abuzz and she struggled to process what her "mom" had told her.

_She was sitting in a hospital room as her mother wheezed softly, close to death. After the accident, her condition had slowly worsened. Now, it was only a matter of time. For two weeks, Lilly McMillan stayed near her mother's room, hoping for her to awaken. When she finally did, she said only 4 words "... not my... daughter." She said pointing at Lilly. "Elmore..." Her mother gasped. Then she was gone._

She always wondered how a crowbar had a pink cat for a daughter, but she figured it didn't matter. She stood up at a sudden though. _The attic!_ It was the only place in the house she'd never been. Maybe it would hold some answers.

Lilly grabbed her keys, and headed for the door. Just as she reached the door, a searing pain ripped through her paws. She stared at them, panting, confused. After the pain subsided, she looked back at her mother. She was somehow sure this had to do with her revelation. A tear slid down her face and she whispered one word - "Goodbye." Then she was gone too.

**So, what will Lilly find in the attic? And what is going through Penny's head after seeing the easy interaction between Gumball and Carrie? **

**Rearranged some chapters here. I will bring the Carrie chapter back when it is a bit more appropriate. It was kind of misplace at chapter 2.**


	2. The Homecoming

**Holy cow! I feel like I'm possessed. Like I said last time, we will be exploring Penny's point of veiw in this one. We will spend a little time learning about Carrie's changes. We will also follow Lilly as she discovers the truth about herself. But what will she do about it? Well, read on, dear readers, and let's find out.**

Penny stared at Gumball. "Instinct? Cats always land on their feet?" She repeated his words slowly. Then it dawned on her. Kittens couldn't always land on their feet, but as they got older the instinct kicked in. That must have been what he meant . When Gumball was falling, his dormant feline instincts had finally taken over. _And, being Gumball, he wouldn't have let a lady fall just to save himself_, she privately gushed.

She glanced over at Carrie and felt a little twinge of jealousy at the way she had spoken so easily with him. Seeing Carrie's perplexed look, she relished a moment of triumph. Knowing she'd been the first to understand made her feel a rush of superiority. It was tainted, though, by the guilt she felt at her own pettiness. She shared her revelation with Carrie, who promptly slapped herself in the forehead.

"So it _was_ my fault." she groaned. "None of it would have happened if I'd just kept that hug to myself."

Penny cringed as jealousy tugged at her heart again. "So, uh, why did you hug him anyway?" Penny shifted anxiously, hoping Carrie didn't realized her motives.

Smiling, Carrie produced his report card. Penny was a little surprised at the grades, but didn't understand why they would warrant a celebration. "He and Mrs. Watterson made a deal. If he got 3 A's and didn't fail anything, she'd get him a car. Now, even if she does, he won't be able to drive for a while." Carries smile faded and she looked miserable again.

Again Penny felt guilty for her suspicions. She also sympathized with Carrie's feelings. She had felt the same way when her own pet spider, Mr. Cuddles, had nearly killed Gumball. She made the situation worse by bringing the tarantula to the hospital. The spider had immediately attacked again. Still, she supposed they were even now. After he'd shoved that blueberry cupcake in her face, then accidentally given her thumb tacks instead of the allergy medication in her locker, she called it even. He didn't know she was allergic to blueberries.

Actually she and Gumball were something she needed to figure out. When she had come out of her shell, Gumball had confessed to her and even helped her regain control of her shape shifting with an earthshattering kiss. Since then, their relationship simply hadn't progressed. Sure, she had a tendency to be indirect in matters of the heart, but Gumball hadn't made any advances either. How in the world was she supposed establish a meaningful relationship if they didn't really interact? Penny's mind flashed back to the comfortable way Carrie and Gumball were talking._ Maybe she can help me_, Penny mused. She looked at Carries miserable face and was reminded of the situation at hand. _Maybe later_, she thought_, right now, she needs help._

Penny patted Carrie sympathetically on the shoulder. She didn't know what else to do. She couldn't exactly argue with the teen ghost. Maybe it would work out and she could make it up to him, somehow._ That's it!_, she thought. Her mind worked quickly, and she soon had a plan that would benefit everyone. As she laid out her plan to Carrie, the girls both began to smile. In fact, when Gumball awoke, he was greeted by two of the most beautifully smiling faces he'd ever seen.

* * *

It had been a week since Pryar McMillan passed away and Lilly still hadn't gone into the attic. She wanted to but so far she had just stood in front of the door, hand on the handle, frozen. She wasn't sure she wanted to go up there. What if her family had given her away? Would they want her back? Slowly, though, her curiosity got the better of her. But every time she found a reason not to open the door.

At first she had a lot to do with settling her mother's affairs and arranging the funeral. Now, with her mother's surprising estate transferred to her and the funeral finished a few hours earlier, she wandered through the house aimlessly. She kept coming back to the door. As she stood in front of it, yet again, a determined look hardened her eyes. She reached out and turned... wait what?

The door was locked! Suddenly angry at being denied, she grasped the handle and ripped the door off its hinges. After a moment, she blinked as if waking up. Now how did I manage that? She wondered. She shrugged and set the door to the side.

She slowly ascended the stairs, every doubt and hope for what she might find whirling through her mind. She pushed down her anxiety and poked her head above the staircase. For an attic it was surprisingly empty. There was a stroller, a small box and a desk. Ignoring the stroller, she went to the most imposing object.

The desk was littered with newspaper clippings. They were a bunch of articles about robberies from before she was born. As she shuffled through the clippings, an article with a picture of a small, pink baby made her drop the stack of papers with a gasp. With shaking paws she picked up the clipping and read.

_...tragedy in Elmore today. The infamous Pry Bar Bandit struck this city in more ways than one. Witnesses report that during a heist at the Elmore City Bank, an unsuspecting mother was robbed of one of her children. Lexy Watterson, daughter of Nicole and Richard Watterson, became the perfect cover for the disguised bank robber to walk undetected past the police. A city-wide manhunt is being conducted to locate the missing child. _

_Nicole Watterson stated, "I had put her in the stroller and turned to speak to the teller. When I turned back, the stroller was gone. I didn't even know the bank was robbed until later!"_

Lilly walked over and looked at the stroller and little box next to it. She swallowed hard and picked up the box. She was afraid of what she would see but now she had to know. She took a deep breath and opened the lid. Her hand flew over her mouth. Inside the box lay a baby outfit and a camcorder. On the outfit, embroidered on the chest was the name. Lexy.

The camcorder held few surprises at this point. Her "mother" had taken her and meant to give her back, but had grown attached. Lilly - no. Her name was Lexy. She needed to get used to that. Lexy was disgusted. Her kidnapper, she forced herself to call the woman what she was, had done something helpful. On the recording gave the address and phone number of her real family before she apologized. Lexy didn't want to hear it.

She rushed downstairs, grabbed the phone and dialed the number. It rang two times before a woman's voice answered. "You've reached the Watterson's residence. We aren't home right-" Lexy slammed the phone down. She suddenly realized she had no idea what she would say. "Hi, how are you doing? By the way I'm your long-lost daughter. Surprise!" The bitterness in her voice was so strong she could literally taste it.

She was suddenly furious. "How dare she do this to me?", she raged. The woman took away her family and her whole life. In her anger, she grabbed the nearest thing and smashed it on the floor. As she looked at the crumpled mess that used to be a phone, she felt a little better. Seizing on that she rampaged through the house. Eventually, drained of anger, she sank to her knees amid the destruction and sobbed. She cried for the life she could have had and the mother she didn't know. She cried for the loss of the mother she had known. She cried until she fell asleep among the rubble that was once her life.

When she woke, she felt cleansed, and resolved. She grabbed her keys and the baby outfit, walked out the door, and drove straight to the address on the camcorder. She walked straight up to the door and rang the doorbell. After a moment, the door swung open and a tired looking blue cat stood looking at her.

"Yes, miss? Can I help you?" Nicole asked.

The young pink cat opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Tears filled her eyes and she held up a faded outfit. Nicole's eyes shot open. Her lips quivered as her eyes darted back forth between the outfit and the pink cat on her doorstep. When she finally spoke, it was barely a whisper, "Lexy? Lexy, is It really you?"

The sob escaped the girl and she nodded tears streaming down her face. Nicole rushed forward and enveloped her lost child in a hug filled with 15 years of love. Tears of joy ran unchecked down her own face. "My baby! Oh, my baby! I missed you so much!" She stroked her daughter's head.

"Oh Mom!" Lexy cried, "Mom!"

* * *

Woosh, POW!

Carrie teleported into her room. _Alright!_ she silently cheered, _Totally nailed it that time. _Out of habit, she flipped her hair in triumph. Her smug smile changed to one of fondness when she caught a brief, unobstructed view of the pictures on her dresser. Gumball, Darwin, and herself smiled back at her from many of them. After concentrating for a moment, her tail resolved into two long legs. She checked to make sure her black lace skirt was in place and flopped gracelessly on her bed, exhausted after her ordeal with Gumball and the results of his injuries. With him stuck in the nurse's office, she'd had to deal with that swarm of males again. She wasn't sure she would ever get the hang of dealing with boys.

At least she was finally starting to get the hang of this ghost puberty stuff. Carrie had started the school year looking exactly the same as she had since childhood. She remembered last year when she had felt so left behind as the other girls developed and she didn't. That all changed a few months ago, finally. But when her own body... form... whatever, did change, the changes were rapid and numerous. She sighed, remembering what she had gone though before she had learned about ghost puberty.

First she had woken up one morning to find out that her body was ballooning. By the end of the week, she resembled nothing more than a beach ball floating through the school halls. After all the teasing she'd gotten that week she swore to leave school and never return. She didn't think it could get worse. She was wrong.

After balloon week, she awoke to a completely new body. This one was decidedly more mature, and, she soon realized, very embarrassing. As she checked herself out, she discovered a few interesting things. First, she had legs and... some other lower body parts absent until now. She also had hips and curves just like she'd seen her friends get. Her hair had grown to reach the middle of her back and she had gained a few feet. As she stood in front of the mirror, she finally noted a couple more additions - ones she felt obligated to put her arm over. She would have danced if she knew how to make her legs move correctly at the time. This was the answer to her prayers. Then came the bad news.

All her ghost powers seemed to have disappeared. She couldn't phase, teleport, or turn invisible. On top of that, her middle felt strange and hollow and hurt. But worst of all, she didn't have a stitch of clothing! She never needed them before, but now she couldn't bear to leave her room without something to cover herself. So she stayed in her room for 3 days and missed a day of school before her grandmother finally figured out something was wrong. That's when Carrie got the book... and a wardrobe.

She grimaced at all the memory of all the technical stuff in the book her disembodied hand of a grandmother had given her. Still, she was glad to have it or she might really have lost her mind. After she was finally able to cover herself, she sat down and began reading where her grandmother was tapping the page.

_... ectoplasmic origin entities (also known as spiritborn, because these entities are born as ghosts) differ from normal ectoplasmic entities because they are unable to enter the underworld. As a result, the amount of ectoplasm available to them is limited. When a spiritborn's ectoplasmic reserve reaches a critical level, they undergo a process known as Metabolically Enhanced Necrosis and Sexual Effect Shift, or MENSES for short. This is also commonly referred to as "ghost puberty" as the connotation is disliked by male spiritborn._

_In preparation for this process the young spiritborn's ectoplasmic form engorges with their remaining ectoplasmic reserves to fuel the metamorphosis. After approximately 5-7 days the ectoplasmic form undergoes the shift. The spiritborn's form become noticeably larger and sexually mature. In fact, it isn't until this process that genitalia are developed. These highly visible effects disguise other significant changes._

_Female spiritborn begin to experience menstraul cycles and males begin producing sperm, thus rendering them capable of engendering offspring. Offspring of spiritborn are determined by the female parent (Living female parents will produce fully living children, though cases of psychic abilities are common in these offspring. While spiritborn children will only be born to female spiritborn). Additionally the spiritborn will now require sustenance. Their new forms have developed to specifically to allow them to derive the ectoplasm they require from one or more sources. Depending on how they feed, spiritborn now fall into one or more of the following categories:_

_Spector - Technically, all spiritborn fall into this catagory. Simply by being near other lifeforms they are able to get enough ectoplasm from the atmosphere to sustain their forms. This means that they cannot actually starve, but a spector has no powers whatsoever. (A note was written here) Ha! Shows what you know. Fasting improves control and increases power._

_Necrophage - Most spiritborn fit into this category as well due to the fact that they feel hunger and can now digest matter. This generally refers to those who choose a fairly normal existance, deriving the ectoplasm they require from food much like living beings. A single meal provides meager amounts of ectoplasm however, and limits their ethereal abilities. Often they only have the most basic, including flight, teleport, phase, and minor form control such as tail/leg manipulation and clothing projection._

_Incubi/Succubi - these spiritborn use their highly sexual nature procure energy from others. They are able to derive ectoplasm from the sexual emissions of their partners. These substances are high in ectoplasm, but the spiritborn generally need multiple partners to enable them to use many of the abilities they rely on. Chief among these are major form control, allowing them assume effectively any shape, and glamour, a come hither aura used similar to animal pheromones, to attract potential partners._

_Reaper - these dangerous spiritborn feed directly from living beings. This feeding method is accomplished via possession where upon the spiritborn feed directly on the host's living soul. As souls are pure ectoplasm, this yields the most known ectoplasm to the spiritborn and few ethereal abilities are beyond the scope of these malevolent entities. This power comes with a price as the soul fragments they consume merge with their own conciousness, causing torment, pain, and eventual madness._

Carries still hadn't gotten her head around it. Basically, she could eat now. Or rather she needed to eat now. When she figured that out, she had gone on a bender that made her food rampages in Gumball seem like snacks. She'd had to miss a week of school while she recovered from a hard lesson about moderation. She'd also found that she needed to wear clothes most of the time. Though mature spiritborn usually projected their own ectoplasmic clothing, she sometimes lost focus on maintaining them. She only had to find herself, embarrassingly, at the center of attention once before she developed a habit of wearing a (usually) black t-shirt and skirt. She would have proffered jeans, but a ghostly tail and pants didn't mix. She kept her skull clip and wore It every day.

Carrie smiled again, a happy, simple smile. Aside from the occasional embarrassing moment, Carrie had a pretty happy life...err... existence now. She hadn't thought she could end up like this. She had expected a miserable afterlife with very little to look forward to. All she ever wanted was to be like her friends. This new body had given her that, _and_ had let her stay her. She wondered if that was what puberty was like for everyone else. She felt different, but the same.

That was the best part, too. Finally, she was able to feel. Her body could feel when she needed to eat, pain, and even pleasure. She could taste things now. It was totally different from when she possessed people to eat. She could actually enjoy things now. And she could still fly and teleport if she ate regularly. As far as she could tell, she had won the genetic lottery.

Now there was just one thing left she wanted - Gumball. She had a crush on him for years now. And as she looked at the pictures of the handsome blue cat lining her dresser, she felt that familiar rush of emotion for him. _Maybe the plan will finally make him notice my feelings_, she thought. _Or maybe you're just a masochist_, she chided herself silently, _you know he has a thing for Penny, you know Penny is your friend, and you know that she likes him, too. What do you think will happen? That he will suddenly love you? And what about Penny? Would you betray her?_ Carrie heaved a heavy sigh. _At least I can be his friend. At least... at least, I can be near him like this, _she thought, a little glumly, and pushing herself up, walked downstairs to get some food.

**Ok, got that out of the way. Hope you don't mind me nerding out on the ghost stuff. But what are Penny and Carrie planning? And how will Gumball handle the return of his twin? Find out next chapter.**


	3. The Revelation

**Lexy took up a lot of the last chapter, so this chapter we will get back to Gumball. What was it that Penny and Carrie are planning? And how will Gumball react to his twins reappearance? I'm anxious to find out. (I write these before I start and I don't even know how this will go yet)**

Gumball was a little bewildered. In the week since his injury, he'd been living in a strange heaven. True, he couldn't use his hands. He wasn't sure that was a bad thing, though. Carrie had demanded that Gumball allow her to help him until he healed. She had literally been his hands for a week now. There had been a few awkward moments, though. Since Gumball couldn't use his hands, going to the bathroom alone was an exercise in futility, but he wouldn't let anyone, let alone Carrie, help him.

He stood firm for a while, but was reaching his breaking point when Carrie came up with a compromise. "Since your thumbs aren't hurt," she reasoned, "all I need to do is undo your pants." It was more than a little embarrassing to let a girl undo his pants, but he really didn't have any options. Thankfully this proved to be a useful solution in other situations. Carrie was able to help him change clothes this way, and, with the help of some swimming trunks, she even helped him bathe.

Nicole seemed a bit nervous about it at first. When Carrie walked Gumball in and told them her intentions, Nicole had flatly refused. But after she saw him standing miserably with bags on his hands and feet, wearing trunks, and waiting outside the bathroom while Carrie set up the shower, she laughed so hard, tears streamed down her face and finally gave in. To make matters worse, Anais made a video of him struggling to scrub himself with bags on him hands while Carrie stood outside in case she needed to help him. Somehow, he knew she was going to use that footage for leverage at some point...

Still, despite the embarrassing moments, he had to admit he enjoyed Carrie's company. At least she wasn't weird about helping him. But she wasn't the only one. Penny was also helping out. That had taken him completely by surprise. When he'd woken up after the accident, she and Carrie had told him that they were going to help him out. In fact, they made him promise to let them help. At the time, he hadn't realized exactly what that entailed. The girls seemed to have everything figured out, though.

Penny was in charge of transportation and took over when Carrie needed to eat or whatever. Carrie didn't have a license, and she wasn't able to take care of him all the time. Well, that was what they said, but both of them had been around everyday, all week. Basically, the three of them had just been hanging out while the girls took turns helping him out. Now they were at the drive in movie, in _his_ car. On his right, a beautiful ghost girl was eating popcorn. On his left, was gorgeous antlered angel was sipping a drink. And they were helping him eat and drink .

He sighed contentedly. This was indeed a strange heaven. He had the two prettiest girl he knew helping him. He and Penny had begun to relax around each other with all the time they spent together and Carrie was the best help he could have wished for. He was beginning to wonder how he was going to choose between them. Wait, WHAT? His mind reeled for a second as he came to a sudden realization; he was attracted to both of them. Suddenly, he needed to get out of the mini station wagon.

"Uh guys? I need to go to the bathroom." He said nervously.

Carrie smiled. "No problem! I'll go with you."

Gumball mind worked fast. As it was, the last thing he needed was a girl he liked near his zipper and biology was rapidly making that worse. The embarrassment of her seeing that might actually kill him. "N-no! Thank you! I mean, no thanks. I think I can manage."

Carrie let him out. "Are you sure, Gumball? If you need help, you are supposed to let me or Penny help you, remember? You promised."

"Y-yeah, I remember. I just think I can manage on my own. Gotta heal sometime." Gumball laugh nervously. "Besides, you too haven't seen the movie before. So you just stay there and I'll be right back." Turning on his heel, Gumball hobbled away as quickly as his injured feet would allow. As he went into the restroom, he did not notice the shadowy figure slip into the room behind him and lock the door.

Gumball went over to the sink and splashed water on his face. As he stood up he caught movement in the mirror and spin around. He found himself staring at the smug face of a 4 foot tall, adorable, pink bunny girl. It was Gumball's 7-year-old sister, Anais.

* * *

Anais was smiling at her own cleverness. She knew something would happen with those girls. When she had seen Gumball rush off, she figured someone had finally made a she was going to find out which of the girls had moved first.

"So, which one was it?" she asked. "Was it Penny? She seems more assertive, but Carrie has a strength of personality that may have given her the courage. What did she do? Did she kiss you? Hold hands? Come on, Gumball, I am dying to know!" Anais's voice became slightly desperate. Nothing she said was impacting her brother; his face registered only confusion. "Oh, come on! Something must have happened! Otherwise, why run over here?"

There it was. Gumball had flinched. She had him now. "So something did happen, then", Anais mused thoughtfully. "But, you are worried about it. That narrows it down to Carrie. If it was Penny you'd just be floating around with that stupid love struck look on your face."

Gumball laughed nervously. "Come on, sis. Nothing happened. Anyway, Carrie wouldn't do anything like that. She is just helping me out because of my hands." Anais didn't miss the way his eyes darted as he said nothing happened but were steady when he said Carrie wouldn't com on to him. So he believed that Carrie wasn't interested. She shook her head. Her brother was smarter than most people gave him credit for, but he was obviously clueless about women. But that meant Carrie hadn't actually done anything. That only left...

Anais gasped, pointing a finger at him. "You like Carrie!" She accused. He flinched again. Bingo. She couldn't believe it. For years, he'd had a crush on Penny. How had it changed so suddenly? Had it changed? She couldn't resist testing that theory. "But what about Penny? I thought you loved her." Homerun. He broke.

"I know, OK? I don't know what's going on." He told her about when he was in the car. She laughed, and laughed all the more when he got angry. "This is serious!" Gumball shouted. "What am I supposed to do? Does this mean I am unfaithful? I don't deserve Penny, if I can't control myself."

Anais clutched her sides. "Gumball, calm down" she gasped between giggles. As her laughter subsided, she explained, "It's perfectly normal to develop sexual tension when you are around someone as much as you've been around Carrie lately."

"Really?", Gumball asked, hopeful.

"Sure.", Anais's replied. "What you are feeling is physical attraction only. Here watch. Describe Penny - honestly, or it won't prove anything."

"She's awesome.", he said. "Penny is kind, thoughtful, and beautiful. She is always looking to lend a hand to other. She's also really hot because she is so athletic and confident. It is kind of intimidating, but the challenge is exciting, too. It makes me want to be better because she expects and deserves better from me, I guess."

Anais nodded. That was exactly as she expected. "Now, Carrie?", she asked. "Remember, honestly - even if it isn't very nice."

"Carrie is kind of shy", Gumball said slowly, "but she is caring and kind. She helps anyone who needs it. She is stunning when she smiles. She makes me want to believe in myself, 'cause she seems to believe in me. She is hot, too but in a shy, reserved way. I feel like it would be totally worth the effort to draw out her passion." He finished his description with the same goofy look on his face as he had when he talked about Penny.

Anais's smile disappeared. The emotion in Gumball's face as he described each girl was the same or close enough for her to know he was in trouble. He liked them both, it seemed to even border on love. "Uh oh" she said. "You officially have a problem, Gumball. You need time to figure this out. Just get through this evening and we'll figure something out." Gumball nodded miserably unlocked the door and hobbled back to his car. Meanwhile Anais was busy thinking and planning.

* * *

Gumball waved nervously to the girls as they walked off. He'd made it through the evening without making a fool of himself. Now he just wanted to sleep. He made his way upstairs and went into the room he and Darwin shared. Sticking his thumbs into the waistband of his pants he undressed. He stripped down to just his shirt and boxers and sat on the bottom bunk of his bed. Normally, he slept in the top, but since his injury he had just stayed at the bottom.

As he went over his evening, he put his head in his hands and sighed._ Forget this,_ he thought._ I'll figure it out in the morning._ With that, he slipped under the covers, and rolled towards the wall. As he was drifting off, a movement on the bed brought him back to the surface enough to realized he wasn't alone.

He could tell he was hugging a warm body. As his brain struggled with towards conciousness, he realized he was tangled in in the arms of of the other body as well. His eyes finally opened and he found himself nose to nose with a strange mirror. His own bewildered expression stared back at him with eyes as shocked and green as his own. The only thing spoiling the illusion was that it was pink.

The two shot back, drew in in a deep breath and screamed in unison, "MOOOOOOOOM!" Their voices actually harmonized somehow. A few seconds later, Nicole burst into the room ready to kill something. Then her eyes fell on the bed and the two cats. They were pointing at each other and staring at her with the same look of fear and anger, unwittingly mirroring one another. They were even wearing the same thing. It was too much for Nicole and she laughed.

Now the two teens looked back at each other, and Gumball's memory sparked. Every birthday he'd had flashed trough his mind. There was always an empty chair, and an unopened present in his mind. All his life there had been an empty space. Even the bunk bed had remained half empty most of his life. He reached up into a hiding place behind the headboard and retrieved an old picture. In it, two babies slept, clasping each other exactly the way the two teens had woken moments earlier.

Gumball showed the picture to the pink cat. He laughed nervously. "I guess old habits die hard, huh... sis?" His voice ended in a hopeful upturn. He held out his hand, just like he'd always imagined doing. When she took it, he winced but didn't falter as he lead her across the room while their mother stared. In front of the closet, he took a deep and said the words he'd waited a lifetime to say , "I'm Gumball. You may know this already, but we've shared a birthday for 15 years now. What you may not know, is that I've celebrated it for you, too. These are for you."

Gumball opened the door and lifted a secret door. There, in the floor, was was a pile of gifts. 15 to be exact.

Lexy knelt down, "When did you get these? How did you even know I was here?"

"I didn't.", Gumball shrugged. "I just never gave up. I bought the first 4 when we turned 4, and one every year since. I knew you would find your way back. I wanted to make sure you knew that you were never forgotten when you got here. It's nice to see you again, Lexy."

Lexy scrubbed at the tears in her eyes and looked him. After a moment she stood up and hugged him. "It's nice to see you too, Gumball."

**So, what's Anais planning? What will she do with her new found knowledge? What will Gumball do about his revelation. And will everyone in the family accept Lexy as readily as her brother? LOL. Who knows? Find out next time.**


	4. The Morning

**Sorry for the delay on getting out the next chapter. For some reason, really stressed about how to proceed from here, and I couldn't think for a bit so I put it down and came back. All better now. **

**Ready? Here we go!**

Penny let herself into Gumball's house and heard the now familiar _CRACK!_ as Carrie teleported into the designated spot they had set up on the roof. Penny was riding high on the success of the past week. She had finally been able to relax and get comfortable in Gumball's presence. She was very unhappy with the way things had been going before.

Losing her shell had been a boon, and she had finally had a breakthrough with Gumball during that first episode with her true nature, but the whole shape-shifter thing was hard to deal with. At first, her form had fluctuated with the smallest change in her emotions. After a while, though, she got a handle on it… that is, whenever Gumball wasn't around.

Penny sighed. Before now, her emotions had gone haywire and her shape shifting got a mind of its own whenever they had hung out. Puberty hadn't helped either. Her basic form hadn't altered much but the forms she took on as her mind entered territory beyond kissing Gumball were, at best, mortifying.

As a result, for the past few months, Penny had avoided contact with Gumball for fear he would receive an embarrassingly graphic representation of her mental shift. Thankfully the past month had shown an improvement, but her avoidance had driven her and Gumball apart and she had been at a loss to repair the damage.

So, Penny was fairly optimistic as she prepped breakfast for the boy… cat, she loved when Carrie came downstairs without Gumball and a devastated look on her face. "Carrie, what's wrong? You're so pale!" she giggled at her joke but her laughter died as she registered the - what did she say? Oh- spiritborn's expression. "Carrie, is Gumball alright?" Penny's fear crept into her voice and seemed to reach Carrie.

"Oh he's FINE" She answered acidly. "He seems to have had a _wonderful_ evening in the arms of some floozy cat girl!" Carrie's anger was plain, and under normal circumstances that might have registered with a girl as smart a Penny, but for the moment, her mind was on other things.

Penny immediately slipped into a ferocious she-wolf and bolted towards the stairs. She burst into Gumball's room and stopped suddenly grey and small at the scene in front of her.

Gumball was nose-to-nose with a beautiful pink cat. The two were grasping each other tightly in an impossible knot of limbs. There were clothes all over the floor and the pink cat was even wearing some of Gumball's cloths. Still staring at the scene, Carrie came up behind Penny.

"I cannot believe he did this. Who is she?!" Carries rage was palpable. As Penny stared, at her, it dawned on her. Carrie was in love with him, too. Earlier, she might have hated her, but just then, she was strangely happy to have someone who understood how she felt just now. And she was suddenly the furious she-wolf again.

"I don't know, but I am about to find out!" with a quick movement, she yanked the blanket from the sleeping forms and started calling…

* * *

"Gumball!"

Gumball became aware of his body first, tied in a familiar, comforting knot with another body. _Another body? _He wondered for a second before recalling the night before. _Lexy and I must have ended up in the same bed again… Then who is calling me? _He thought as he plodded towards full consciousness.

"Gumball!"

He opened his eyes to find two very angry looking girls glaring at him. Well one angry girl and one glowering monstrous she-wolf he recognized as Penny in one of her angry forms. His mind shot the last couple of notches past conscious and he immediately registered his position as it would appear to the two girls. And then he groaned. Later he wondered if he might have avoided what happened next if Lexy hadn't woken up just then.

First Lexy smiled, hugged him and snuggled closer. Then her eyes shot open again and she shoved him back until he went off the bed. His new instincts kicked in, and, with an impossible midair twist, he landed firmly on his injured paws. The pain filled his eyes with tears and a feral roar burst from him before he crumpled into a pain wracked mess on the floor. The roar combined with his sudden collapse jolted the girls into action and the room exploded in motion. Later he had to piece together their stories to build a picture of what had happened.

Lexy dove for the closet and grabbed a tennis racket she'd seen the night before. She turned in time to see a monstrous wolf dragging her newly regained brother from the room with an evil looking ghost following them. She dialed 911. "Yes, please come to the Watterson residence! There is a huge wild animal carrying off my brother." Lexy snapped her phone shut and followed her brother. She figured it best not to mention she'd seen a ghost.

Carrie closed the door just as Lexy began to follow and held it so that Penny and Gumball could escape. She struggled to hold it while Penny dragged the pain dazed Gumball to "safety".

Downstairs, Penny got Gumball into a chair. After making sure he wouldn't fall over, she turned and faced the bottom of the stairs, a growl building in her throat. A groan from Gumball called her attention and she rushed over. "Are you alright? How did she hurt you?" Gumball only groaned in pain. A little frantic, Penny began searching his body for any new injuries. She was looking so hard she never heard the door open or the heavy footsteps of Sheriff Doughnut.

Gumball came around just in time to see Sheriff Doughnut tase Penny. Pushing aside the haze of pain, he yelled. "Sheriff, stop! She's my friend!" The pastry hastily pulled the device off Penny, looking apologetic.

Turning to Gumball, he asked," So, where is the dan-" He never got to finish. With a few bumps and a loud crash, Lexy and Carrie landed at the bottom of the stairs. Sheriff Doughnut turned and stared at the girls tussling on the floor. Getting up first, Lexy swung futilely at Carrie. Her fist passed harmlessly through the ghost girl and sent Lexy lurching forward. Waiting until just the right moment, Carrie grabbed her arm and swung her across the room towards a bookcase.

Lexy crashed into the bookcase and was buried under a pile of debris. Lexy burst out of the pile in fury. A movement to Gumball's left drew his attention and he turned to see the sheriff drawing his weapon while looking at Lexy. Time contracted for Gumball as he filled with rage. He had one dispassionate thought before he was consumed. _I wonder if this is how Mom feels when __**she**__ gets angry._

* * *

Penny awoke to a bloodcurdling sound. Once, when she was young, she had seen a show that had featured a tiger. Sadly the tamer was cruel and had pushed the poor animal too far that day. The sound the huge cat had made when it had turned on its master was one that she could never forget. Now she stared, transfixed as the sound that haunted her nightmares emanated from the boy she liked.

Gumball was towering above her and glaring murderously across the room. She blinked. Wait, what happened to him? It looked like him, but his fur had black stripes visible against the blue and his eyes burned gold instead of their usual green. Following his gaze, she felt a hard knot of fear settle in the pit of her stomach. The sheriff was going to shoot that cat-girl, and Gumball obviously cared very deeply for her. The seed of fear in her stomach bloomed into jealousy – he loved that girl.

_After all, he didn't act this way when the fat doughnut tasered me_, she thought glumly. A sudden thought had her elated that the girl was going to be eliminated. This was perfect. The girl would be out of the picture and she didn't have to do a thing. She leaned forward with a look of grim expectation and she became aware of warmth behind her. Looking back to Gumball, heat struck her in the face like she'd opened a furnace.

Gumball was radiating so much heat, the air around him shimmered and steam rose in tendrils from his body. His growl swelled in intensity until it became a physical sensation. It vibrated through her and sent shivers down her spine. Any thoughts of harming that girl went flat out of her head and the jealousy she'd felt was replaced by awe. What she saw terrified her, even as it mesmerized her.

_He is magnificent._ Her thoughts rang in her head. Her mind recalled the tiger in full ferocity. He was beautiful, but perfectly deadly. To behold, he was at once alluring and terrifying. A familiar deadly click jerked her attention away from the creature in front of her. She turned back towards the sheriff and was filled with terror anew. The growl coming from Gumball had silenced the room and ended the conflict between the cat-girl and Carrie, but it had given the sheriff a new, more dangerous, target.

With the threat removed from the cat-girl, Gumball became silent, but he still stared furiously at the gun in Sheriff's hand. Suddenly another growl issued from across the room. Crouching down, preparing to pounce was the pink cat. She had undergone a similar transformation but the contrast between her pink fur and blood red stripes was stark compared to Gumball's blue and black. The growl she was emitting was that same thrumming promise of death that had issued from Gumball.

Penny watched, frozen, as a sort of stalemate ensued. The sheriff was in the middle swinging his gun between the two. When the gun was pointed at one the other growled. Penny was at a loss. Somehow she knew this wasn't going to last; one of them would break soon. As she stared hopelessly at the terrified sheriff, she realized it would probably be him.

Then it hit her. Watching him she caught a tiny moment of silence as he swung the weapon between the two. Whispering so that she wouldn't scared him, Penny got the sheriff's attention. "I think if you put the gun down, they will stop."

"N-n no way! If I don't – keep this up – the one behind me – will pounce." the sheriff spoke haltingly between movements.

Signaling to Carrie, Penny nodded meaningfully to the sheriff and Carrie nodded and drifted ever so slowly toward the sheriff's back. After a moment, Penny said, "Then how about pointing the gun in the middle? If one gets ready to pounce, you can still move to get them." _Come on, Carrie!_ The sheriff thought a moment, gun still dancing between the two cats.

Alright," he said suddenly. "I'll do it." He was too early though and Carrie couldn't catch him when the two cats suddenly rushed him, blurs of pink and blue.

* * *

BANG!

Carrie saw the cats move and rushed forward to catch the sheriff but she was too slow. The officer was suddenly sandwiched between the cats and the gun went off. Carrie was filled with horror. She slowly came forward, scared to see what happened but driven helplessly by her need to ensure Gumball was safe. Suddenly, a strange voice filled the air.

"JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING TO MY # ^%ER?!" Carrie blinked. That last word was garbled and she couldn't understand it. She finally came around to the front and was relieved to see that the gun hadn't had the chance to move. It was pinned between the outstretched hands of the two cats.

Slowly, their hands removed the gun from the sheriff's grasp. Working as though a single pair of hands, they unloaded the weapon before bending the barrel to aim back at the shooter. In sync, they opened their moths to speak and the origin of the strange voice became clear as they spoke in unison, their voices blending to create a new voice.

"HOW DARE YOU POINT THAT GUN AT MY FAMILY?" Revelation sparked in Carrie's mind. _No wonder the pink cat looks so familiar –_ t_hey must be twins! Why didn't Gumball ever mention her?_ Carrie resolved to ask after this was over. _Speaking of which_, she thought, returning her attention to the spectacle in front of her.

The two steaming cats each used one hand to lift the doughnut in the air. They brought his face down within inches of their own and each fixed one burning golden eye on each of the poor doughnut's blue ones. "If you ever try to hurt my # ^%er again, I will look for you, I will find you and I will destroy you." _They would have whispered if they weren't speaking in unison_, Carrie thought. This time, she correctly deciphered the garbled word as brother/sister being spoken in unison.

Finally they dropped the shaken officer and slumped down as they passed out. Carrie managed to catch the twins while the sheriff crawled out of the house, jabbering in fear. She shuddered a bit, recalling how she'd seen their mother cause a similar reaction in a security guard at the mall and hoped she never ended up on the receiving end of that little trick.

In her relief, an impulse took her and she kissed Gumball's forehead. As she did she noticed some black on the roots some of his fur. She stood back and looked and she could see it. Just barely visible, slightly darker stripes marred the once pure color of both cats' fur. That was okay with her though. _I don't mind a little darkness_, she thought. _Especially considering how he'd looked a moment ago_, she mused and fondly stroked the fur behind his ears.

She'd never seen anything so incredible. She was a little afraid, though. Even though she had gone intangible, she had been struck by a wave of energy that had burst from the two cats as they had transformed. As she eased the two cats down onto the couch, she had a sudden thought. She tried phasing through Gumball with one hand. She recoiled when her hand encountered a wall of energy and she was faced with alarming information.

She couldn't phase through! She didn't know how she felt about that. Carrie had always been able to avoid getting hurt by phasing out. The idea that this boy could bypass that was kind of thrilling. If he could touch her even if she didn't want to be touched... The thoughts that this information roused in her were vivid and alarming. As she struggled with her emotions concerning this new aspect of Gumball, a prickling on her neck caused her to look around.

Penny was staring at her. Carrie's mind zipped through everything she'd just done. Had she seen the kiss? Trying to phase through? Her mind raced a moment. She latched onto the sensation of heat she'd gotten during Gumball and his twin's transformation. "They are still kind of hot. I tried to see if he was hurt and got scorched."

Penny's nodded slowly, "I know. It was like I was sitting next to a furnace earlier." Carrie relaxed. The other girl wouldn't have left it alone if she'd seen the more embarrassing bits. Carrie mentally cringed from the idea of Penny finding out about her crush on Gumball. She didn't want to betray her friend, but she couldn't simply give up on Gumball. If she did she knew she would regret it if she didn't give it her all.

On the other hand, she kind of wished Penny **had** seen. At least then she could be honest about her feelings to someone. Maybe they could try for Gumball's affection as equals. Then again, Gumball had been in love with Penny forever, while Carrie was only his gal-pal. _Maybe I __**should**__ give up, _she thought.

Penny suddenly stood up. "I think we had best start cleaning up. If Mrs. Watterson sees this mess we will be on the receiving end of the glare these two gave the sheriff. Gumball told me that she did that once to Mr. Wilson."

"I remember that... I'll take care of the bookshelf."

She turned back to the two cats and Penny and started to clean up the mess they had made. They didn't need to be on the receiving end of what the twins had given to the sheriff from Nicole. But she couldn't help but feel eyes watching her. She kept looking but no one was there.

* * *

Lexy was sitting cross legged on the bunk bed, staring at her fur. The red stripes had gone away after a while. After everything, she was a little embarrassed that she'd displayed such a side of herself to complete strangers. Gumball was sleeping and the girls were hanging out in his room in case he needed anything. Penny and Carrie seemed to be handling all this very well.

In fact they were doing almost too well. After putting her and Gumball in separate beds, they had cleaned the room and living room. After she had woke they had listened to her story and seemed to have taken her at her word on that. But there was the matter of the transformation that she had seen Gumball undergo before experiencing herself. After a half hour of watching them hang out waiting to help Gumball, she could take it anymore.

"How come you guys are so calm? Gumball and I are obviously not normal and I am so freaked out right now about what happened."

Lexy watched as the ghost and whatever Penny was, exchanged looks. Carrie sighed and said, "I guess you could tell by now that we aren't exactly normal either. I am a spiritborn – a kind of living ghost I guess? Gumball and his brother Darwin are, like, the only guys I trust here. They helped me through a rough – uh – growth spurt. Afterwards they didn't judge me and I can be myself with them. Penny is a shape-shifter. Most of her family wear a special shell to keep their shifting under control. But, a couple of years ago, Gumball helped her leave her shell and be herself. She opened herself to his possible ridicule only to find he had none. I guess you could say we both owe him. Also, to be honest, this is not too far outside normal for a day with Gumball."

"Oh… wow. Sounds like my brother can be a handful. Care to share?" Lexy sat back as the other girls spun various tales about this alien blue twin of hers. His purported antics soon had her laughing to the point of tears. "Gumball sounds like an interesting guy! You won't believe what he did when we met last night."

The girls had tears shimmering in their eyes after hearing about Gumball's stash of presents. "He really is amazing," Penny gushed.

"You bet he is. Best guy I know!" Carrie agreed.

Lexy cocked her head to the side, a question suddenly occurring to her. "Are either of you interested in him?"

**That seems like a good spot to make you all mad at me and rabid for the next chapter. Won't take as long this time it's already almost done.**

**P.S. The mixed POV after Lexy wakes up is not a POV error; it is each girl's POV expressed through the lens of Gumball's understanding of the story. The shared information is what gives him some limited insight into their thoughts. So, in conclusion, no I did not violate my POV scheme.**


	5. The Save

**Alright. Moving right along, I won't leave you hanging too long on this particular front. How will the girls deal with this elephant in the room?**

"Are either of you interested in him?"

Lexy's innocent question hung in the air like a flying viper as the other girls became very still. Penny saw Carrie's whole body turn a pale pink. Lexy was pointedly not looking at her and she realized she was rapidly cycle through some of her more embarrassing forms, some had even managed to darken Lexy's cheeks with their… audacity.

"Well, I guess Gumball and I have always kind of had a mutual attraction," Penny offered shyly after reigning in her rampant shifting. "When he convinced me to leave my shell, he didn't exactly _say_ it but when he kissed me-"

"He _kissed_ you?" Carrie's breathless question cut through Penny's confession. She looked as if this news had knocked the wind out of her. She seemed to struggle with herself for a moment before a hungry look stole over her. "W… What was it like?" Carrie's fixed her hungry eyes on her friend, trapping Penny with her intense gaze. Lexy was making herself as small as possible.

Penny didn't know what to do. She had realized that Carrie cared for Gumball, but she couldn't hate her for it. She and Carrie had gotten very close over the past week, and Carrie hadn't tried to force her away, nor done a single underhanded thing to separate her and Gumball. Could Penny fault her for the very weakness Penny herself was subject to? But Carrie was still waiting and Penny knew she wouldn't be able to hide the truth.

"I have never experienced anything like it. It was as if the cosmos was in harmony with that one moment." Carrie's hands gripped her knees, the pain of longing etched clearly into her features. No! Penny didn't want _this_; she didn't want to hurt her friend! Carrie's attempts to hide her pain were futile at this point. She seemed only seconds from tears, but the words kept falling out of Penny, completely at odds with her thoughts. _I don't want to hurt you._ "As soon as our lips met, I felt as if we were suspended in time, cradled in the arms of the universe." _Why did you ask this of me?_ "That's what got my shifting under control." _Please, no more!_

Carrie slumped down, hugging herself as tears and silent sobs wracked her. Across the room, tears ran unheeded down Penny's own face, mourning the tragedy she was witnessing.

* * *

Carrie stared forward. She was wracked with emotion. She was slowly buckling under the crushing sadness and was quickly losing the battle to hold back her tears. She raged with anger at herself, jealousy of Penny, and yearning for Gumball. She simply couldn't contain it any longer; her pain needed release and began flowing out of her in heaving, and thankfully silent, sobs.

She couldn't look at Penny, knowing she had revealed the truth of her emotions at this point. For the moment, she didn't care. She simply let herself cry. She wasn't sure what she was crying for: herself, the loss of the boy she liked, or the sure loss of the unanticipated friend she'd made in Penny.

Carrie's tears slowed as she wished, not for the first time, that she could hate Penny. That would give her something to throw her pain into and make this so much easier. But she could no more despise Penny then she could feel guilty for her own feelings. If anyone could understand being attracted to that goofy cat, it was Carrie. The thought made her smile, and she sat up, wiping her face and composing herself.

She avoided looking at Penny while she gathered herself together. _I can't put this off forever, _she thought and finally turned back to Penny. "Penny, I… Penny?" Carrie realized something was wrong. Penny was slumped limply against the wall. As Carrie rose to go check her, the world suddenly lurched sideways, and she found herself on the floor. Two small legs entered her vision and the last thing she remembered before she lost consciousness was the sound of a tape recorder playing an ominous "Duh, duh, DAH!"

* * *

Darwin got into the house. He'd been out hanging out with Racheal at the mall. She and he had been secretly going out for two months now. He didn't know how to tell Gumball. Now, he was always on edge. Every time Gumball called his name he had to fight the urge to spill his guts. The last week had been nearly blissful though. With the two girls fussing over him, Gumball hadn't even seemed to care that Darwin was gone.

"DARWIN! Where have you been dude?" Gumballs voice nearly made Darwin jump out of his skin. "I called your cell like 15 times, dude. Why didn't you answer?"

Darwin started to tell him that he had turned off his phone cause that's what you do when you're out with your lady, and promptly slapped himself before he could say one word. Pulling out his phone, he peered at it. "OH! Sorry, dude. I must've butt set it to silent. My bad."

"Whatever, never mind. We have a problem!" Gumball was suddenly frantic. "Carrie and Penny are missing!"

"Pfft! Haha! Man, they don't _live_ here. Just call 'em." Darwin shrugged and started to go upstairs. He was immediately sitting on the floor, Gumball's hands firmly pressing him down.

"No, man. I think they were kidnapped."

Now Darwin was more than a little bewildered by Gumball's behavior, and irritated with this interruption to his intended actions. "Really? Based on what evidence? That they aren't there? Big deal! It's not like you are the center of their friggin' universe!"

Gumball stepped back, took a deep breath, and pulled three familiarly folded pieces of paper out of his pocket. "I found these upstairs, and Lexy says she saw them get taken."

Darwin unfolded the papers and gasped. The first one he opened was a drawing of Carrie, trapped in a strange tube with sparks of electricity crawling over it. Next was a picture of Penny suspended by her wings over a vat of rainbow mix. Finally, there was a picture of Racheal. Darwin felt his heart skip a beat and he immediately regretted his anger at Gumball. Racheal was tied up on a chair careening down a hill.

Darwin felt the rare stirring of true fury in his chest. Crushing the drawings in his fist, he spoke the name he knew Gumball was thinking. "Sarah…"

Gumball nodded. "Yeah dude. So what do we do?"

Darwin and Gumball stood thinking moment before a familiar looking pink cat came down the stairs. Darwin stared at her, trying to figure out where he remembered seeing here. "DUDE! She looks just like you did that one time Mr. Dad had a job we got hit by a temporal flux that changed you into a girl!"

Gumball shrugged. "Eh, makes sense. Lexy is my twin." Gumball held up a hand to stop Darwin's questions. "Honestly I've explained it enough times already today and we don't have time. Short, short version is stolen as a baby, found out about it, reunited last night, rough morning – don't ask – and she will be living with us now."

"Oh, OK. Nice to meet you! I'm Darwin." Darwin held out his hand.

Lexy shook his hand. "Are you a fish?"

Gumball stomped and sighed. "Urraagh! Still don't have time! Short, short, short. PET. FISH. GREW. LEGS. DARWIN. Now can we please get to finding the girls?"

The reminder of the girls' possible peril snapped Darwin back to reality. The last time they had dealt with Sarah, she had come up with some crazy script that had the three of them in a polygamist relationship. Darwin snapped his fingers. "What if the pictures are like that script she had us act out that one time?"

Gumball's eyes widened. "That means… oh god… Let me see those drawings." Darwin handed them over and Gumball looked at the pictures again. "OK. I know where Penny and Racheal are… but Carrie has me stumped. On the bright side, Carrie, doesn't seem to be in any danger. I just don't understand why she took Racheal."

Darwin grabbed Gumball by the shirt. "Tell me where Racheal is!"

Gumball's eyes narrowed. Darwin quickly let him go and tried to think of an excuse but Gumball just told him. "Remember when _you_ kidnapped Tobias's Mom?"

"Yeah. So?" Darwin didn't get it. _What does that have to do with anything? _He wondered.

"Remember how she went down the hill in a chair tied up just like Racheal is in this picture?" Gumball held it up and pointed for emphasis.

Darwin's mouth became a circle for a sec before he rushed off to grab some roller skates. Then he stopped. "Wait! I won't be able to catch her without some positive reinforcement!"

Gumball looked at Lexy. "I have to go get Penny… could you ride with him?"

Lexy swallowed. "What do I have to do?" She stared nervously as the fish-boy strapping on the skates

Gumball shrugged. "Pet him gently and hang on tight."

* * *

Gumball watched as Darwin picked up Lexy and they took off in Darwin's happy rainbow boost. He nodded to himself and set off for where he expected he would find Penny – the Rainbow Factory.

Gumball was kicking himself as he ran. He had endangered both Penny and Carrie with his mixed up feelings. To him, it was obvious that the three girls had been targeted because of his _and _Darwin's interest in them. Given Sarah's talent for stalking, he wouldn't be surprised if she'd been there when Anais confronted him about it.

Racheal's abduction accounted for Darwin's inexplicable absences lately. They must be in a relationship but were keeping it quiet. That was fine by Gumball. He was in no position to make judgments on Darwin's love life. After all, Darwin had only gotten _one_ girl kidnapped.

Gumball continued to worry at the problem of his polyamory until the Rainbow Factory came into view. The memory of the toxic material that was rainbow mix filled him with dread and chased away his worries over his own duality. The exact composition of rainbow mix was unknown, but Gumball was almost certain the stuff was responsible for Darwin's mutation and various other oddities like his _rainbow_ boost.

_Who knows what would happen to Penny?_ Gumball thought, and anger at Sarah lent him a boost of speed. He didn't notice he was starting to steam or the slightly darker stripes that were just barely visible in his coat.

When Gumball reached the factory, finally noticed the steam, but he had steamed before on a run and paid it no mind. He approached the door and didn't even notice as he broke the deadbolt, pushing open the door as if it weren't even locked.

"Penny?!" Gumball's voice rang loud and strong and a little deeper than normal. "Penny, are you in here?!" Gumball strained to hear some answer, any answer. There! Was it? Yes! Ahead a muffled voice could be heard. Gumball rushed toward the noise, careful to avoid going close to the rainbow mix.

After a couple minutes he found her, suspended just as in the picture over the enormous main vat of rainbow mix, slowly being lowered by a winch. She was holding her feet up to keep them out of the mix. Her mouth was taped.

Gumball made a beeline for the winch. The next thing he knew he was doing a back flip. Something had tried to hit him, but his newly developed instincts had enabled him to barely avoid the strike. Landing smoothly on his feet, he stared at the impressive battle form of Bobert.

"Target acquired." Bobert droned. "Commencing target destruction."

"Whoa, wait, Bobert, buddy, don't do this!" Gumball tried to talk the robot down. "This isn't you! Were friends remember?"

"Negative. One's programming states that Gumball _must_ be eliminated unless he is kissing Sarah." Bobert leveled his energy blaster at Gumball. Gumball saw the energy gather as the blaster charged and got ready to dodge until he realized that Penny was directly behind him. _Oh man, this is gonna hurt, _he thought as scrunched up his eyes and braced himself. _Gosh-darn Sarah. _

_Sarah. _That girl's name pulsed through him repeating over and over, each pulse triggering a fresh eruption of anger in him. As his anger built up he felt that same rage fill him and time contracted once more. The sound of the blaster s charge, filled his ears as his anger hit a wall.

Finally came the snap and he felt and incredible surge of energy, but this time he managed to remain conscious. He opened his eyes to a radically different view. Bobert stood seemingly frozen in time, his blaster mid-fire while the energy bolt sluggishly crept towards him, like a marble sinking in molasses.

Gumball blinked. He recognized this. He had done something like this when Penny's father had almost run her over with a car. Gumball shook his head. He didn't need to be standing around like this. The blaster bolt was moving slow but it was already halfway to him. Looking around, Gumball's eyes fell on a trash can.

Running over, he reached out to grab the can and was startled by the stripes on his arms. As he stared at them, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye that made him look up. Glancing around, he noticed that things were slowly speeding up. Realizing there was a limit to this time slowing thing, he filed away the stripes for later and took the can over into the path of the blaster bolt. The can took the bolt and was immediately blasted into a cloud of smoke and debris.

Gumball crouched behind the smoke as time resumed an almost normal speed. Everything was still a little slow, though. _Good, _he thought, _that gives me an edge. _He focused on Bobert's hulking outline through the smoke. Gumball rushed from the cover of the smoke and managed to get the robot's control port open before he could react. Gumball hit reboot and dropped down.

Gumball's feet were just touching the ground as he realized his mistake. He was practically in Bobert's arms and the robot was trying to catch him in a bear hug. Drawing on knowledge or instinct he wasn't aware he had, Gumball planted his feet and dropped his weight. Throwing his arms to either side he stuck Bobert's monstrous armored forearms, throwing them wide and off balancing the robot's enormous battle form.

Gumball dropped lower still as he slide one foot forward. Squaring his shoulders to his target and drawing his hands back, he suddenly fired all his muscles in rapids sequence. Legs lifted his weight and sent it up and forward at a 45° angle. His arms extended at the same time, putting all his force along the same angle and directing it into his hands, which struck Bobert in the center of the chest. He had, in effect, fired a cannon composed of all Gumball's strength and weight point blank into the robot's chest.

Bobert sailed in an arc backwards nearly 20 m and smashed through the brick wall of the factory, leaving Gumball to stare at a Bobert shaped hole. _Now how did I manage that? _

Penny's frantic muffled screams reminded him of the urgency of her situation and he rushed to the winch. He reached it just moments before Penny's feet touched the deadly mix. Without enough time to reverse the winch, he grabbed the rope and raised Penny high enough to let her relax while he set the winch to bring her up.

As he watched her rise, slumped now with relief, a reality occurred to him. There was no way to get to her. He had a thought and stopped the winch. "Penny! Can you hear me?" Penny had felt the winch stop and was looking at him. She nodded slowly. "Can you transform?" The look Penny shot him was clear. "Oh, yeah, I bet you already thought of that, huh? Ok then, I know this might sound crazy but I need you to kick your feet as fast as possible."

Penny was obviously confused, but began doing as he asked. Gumball focused his attention on her swinging legs and concentrated. At first, nothing happened. Penny was starting to get tired and Gumball was about to tell her to stop when he felt it happen. Penny's legs were now slowing to a stop. Just to be sure, he fished a coin from his pocket and held it in front of him before dropping it.

The coin hung in the air. Now sure, Gumball snapped into action. Grabbing his pocket knife, he flipped out the blade. He ran forward, sliced the rope, dropped the knife and launched himself at Penny.

* * *

Penny was getting tired. She was confused and scared and she simply didn't understand why gumball wanted her to kick her feet. Then his arm blurred and he was holding a coin. She couldn't believe her eyes as Gumballs arm blurred again, a knife appearing in his hand. Her eyes widened as she took in what he was doing and panic filled her.

Blur. The knife blade was out. Blur. The rope was cut. Then everything blurred and she found herself standing next to Gumball, free from the rope and gag and safe on the factory floor. Just like that. Her mouth fell open and she just stared at him.

"Uh, sorry if I scared you. I just couldn't stand the thought of leaving you hanging there, so I did the only thing I could think o…" Gumball trailed off, wobbling slightly as the stripes faded from his fur. Quick on her feet, Penny slid into a burly, gorilla-like form and caught the cat.

"Thanks." he smiled weakly at her.

"Let's get you home" Penny said.

"Yeah, I guess." Gumball nodded.

Penny transformed into a red dragon and Gumball climbed wearily aboard. As they flew Gumball laid out the events of the afternoon and explaining what he could of his experience with his transformation. Penny was gob-smacked. _It was almost like super powers…_ Glancing back at the drained cat riding her back, she decided the price for those powers was decidedly high. Gumball looked as though he'd run a full marathon – without sleep – and he was only "powered up" for 2-3 minutes.

Gumballs house was in sight and as she leveled out to glide in, she was happy to point out Darwin and Lexy leading a sobbing, but fully intact, Racheal up the driveway to Gumball. She craned her neck about and found the chair a few blocks away, mere feet from an intersection.

"Hold on tight" Penny warned as she back-winged to land gracefully on the lawn. Her mind was working furiously as Gumball slid off her back and she resumed her natural form. _Why would Sarah do this to us?_ She tried hard but the only thing she could remember was Carrie sitting in Gumball's room sobbing. Then waking suspended by her wings over the lava. The knowledge that she couldn't transform with her wings tied was filed away for later. Who knew it was that simple to control her transformations? WAIT…

"CARRIE! Where is she?" Penny felt the panic close her throat.

Gumball pulled out the drawing of Carrie. "We had to prioritize. Carrie is trapped but there is no immediate danger." Stripes flickered across his fur as Gumballs face became fiercely determined. "I will find her…" This time he really did pass out. Penny guessed that last little display had exhausted whatever it was that powered this change of his.

The ragged group limped into the house and met face to face with the most terrifying creature Penny knew: Nicole Watterson.

**Please for the love of my story, please review. This whole Sarah arc is good for one or two more chapters, but I need to know that this is worth continuing. Anyway. Where has Sarah taken Carrie, and will Gumball and gang find her in time? And what are Penny and Carrie going to do about their Gumball problem? Will Gumball figure out his feelings? And what exactly are they? Find out as we continue Gumball's crazy adventures.**


	6. The Dream

**I may have forgotten at some point to acknowledge this, but the OC Lexy is the intellectual property of lexboss and was incorporated at her request. Also I don't own Gumball or anything else in these stories. This Chapter will be a bit slower paced as we will be hashing out some internal conflict with Penny about Carrie. Now, what awaits Gumball and company in the form of Nicole? How are they going to find Carrie and what will Penny **_**do**_** about this rival for Gumballs affection? Let's find out.**

"Where _have _you bee- Oh, my gosh, what happened?" Nicole transitioned from outraged parent to concerned mother seamlessly as soon as she took in the state of Gumball's group. With a glance at her companions, Penny understood Mrs. Watterson's concern. Racheal was clinging to Darwin, practically shivering in fright. Gumball was out, supported between her and Lexy. Lexy looked disheveled and she could only guess how she looked.

Penny, ever practical, spoke up. "I'd love to explain everything but, just now, I think something hot and maybe a blanket would do well for Racheal." Jerking her head toward Gumball she added, "And I think a bed will do for him."

Nicole fixed her with narrowed eyes and Penny swallowed nervously, but she stood her ground. Or tried to anyway, with Gumball seeming heavier every second. Finally, Nicole's expression cleared and she motioned up the stairs "Go ahead and lay him down. I'll get things settled here but I expect an explanation as soon as you get down here."

Penny nodded. She and Lexy worked together to get the blue cat upstairs and in bed. Penny covered him with the blanket and smoothed back the fur on his head, oblivious to Lexy's exit. She felt a rush of emotion for this strange blue cat. The things he had endured to rescue her both in the past and today were not what she might have expected anyone to willingly undergo, yet every time she needed him, there he was.

Penny giggled a bit at the thought. Sometimes he had failed so utterly, she didn't think it would ever work. Then there was the whole jealousy thing. Carrie had helped to bring an end to that… Carrie. Penny sighed. What exactly was she supposed to do about her friend's obvious feelings for Gumball?

Penny didn't want to lose her friendship. The two had talked a lot over the last week while Gumball was recovering. They had a lot in common actually. Penny had always thought that she was just a whiny emo freak, and Carrie had blushingly confessed that she always thought Penny was stuck up jock and honor student.

It was sort of sad that those stereotypes had prevented the two from becoming friends sooner. Carrie was loyal, giving and honest, if a bit sarcastic. These were the things Penny strove to be. Additionally, they both had to deal with irregular biology. Carrie's spiritborn biology was as fascinating to Penny as her morphing ability was to Carrie.

Carrie had told Penny how Gumball had helped free her father from a curse. Gumball had helped Penny have the courage to accept herself for what she was. Penny blinked. Gumball had had such an impact on both of them. And when he was hurt, Gumball's need had unified them despite their differences and perceptions of one another.

Penny had a moment of clarity then, rising to her feet and clenching her fist in determination. She refused to allow her or Carrie's feelings for Gumball to end _their_ friendship. _Now I just have to figure out __**how**_, she thought miserably. Determination was all well and good, but she needed some kind of plan. She slumped down and buried her head in her arms on Gumball's bed. _ How? How…_

_She was trapped. A glass tube surrounded her and an electrical current kept her from phasing through. Even worse, she hadn't eaten lately so she couldn't teleport out, and wasn't even sure she could. Whoever had put her here had done some homework._

_She tried to figure out where she was. There wasn't much to go on. From what little light she had, she could just make out the inside of a shack. There was a generator in the corner, the only sound she could hear providing the power for her prison. _

_She wasn't particularly scared. She was basically immortal, all she had to do was wait and eventually her friends would find her. A vague fantasy about Gumball coming to her rescue was crushed mercilessly. She had already decided that she wouldn't allow herself to hope to for his affection. He loved Penny._

_She sighed. She wished Penny hadn't seen her break down earlier. She still wasn't sure what she was going to say when she saw her again. She cherished the few friends she had, and Penny was now in that number. She smiled, remembering her opinion of the shapeshifter before this week. _

_Back then, she'd been able to dislike her. _Evenhate her, _she admitted to herself. The stuck up, popular, athlete and valedictorian. Little Miss Perfect. So perfect, all the boys liked her. Even Gumball. She shoved down the wave of despair that inevitably surfaced whenever she considered his feelings for Penny._

_But then Gumball got hurt, and Penny was there by her side comforting her with tales of her or Gumball's ineptitude. Penny had suggested Operation Nurse Gumball. The girls started talking, first a little, then nonstop. Yesterday, she spent all day hanging out with Gumball and Penny, gone to a movie with them, then gone home and talked to Penny on the phone for a couple hours._

_She had told Penny things she hadn't told anyone else. Penny had shared things she was sure only she knew. Tears filled her eyes for the second time that day. She didn't, couldn't, feel guilty for her feelings, but she doubted that Penny would be able to see this as anything less than betrayal. She wished she could just disappear._

_SLAM!_

_The door to that shack flew open. The near blinding sunlight momentarily revealed piles of scrap before the slightly hunched silhouette moved into the shack, slamming the door closed. She heard shuffling noises as the figure moved over to a table and turned on a lamp._

_There, illuminated pale electric light, was Sarah G. Lato. Sarah stared triumphantly at her. "I hadn't expected to take you, but after that disgusting display, it was apparent that I needed to add you to my plans."_

"_What plans?" She asked, fear finally worming its way in to settle uncomfortably in the pit of her stomach._

"_You and that silly peanut morphing monster don't deserve to breathe the same air as Gumball. I can't even believe you think he might be interested in an __undead, ectoplasmic, transparent, paranormal, spooky, floating, fringe-flicking freak__ like you."_

_Recognition sparked in her mind. "Jealousy? I thought we banished you!"_

_A slow distorted chuckle issued from Sarah. "Figured it out already? Well, so what? This one wanted Gumball and Darwin but there were others in the way. Her jealousy built and built until it summoned me and we struck a bargain. I eliminate the competition, she helps me get revenge. Who knew that they would be one and the same?"_

"_What did you do to my friends?" The fear was quickly turning to panic, gripping her heart in icy fingers._

"_Oh never fear. Your precious Gumball is safe. I wish I could tell you that your worries over a rival in Penny were over, but you will never enjoy her absence." The possessed Sarah smirked. "I just finished a little reading, and I think I found a way to get rid of you for good." It tapped a book it had set on the table and she gasped when she recognized the book given to her by her grandmother._

"_Turns out you need to be separated from others for just a while before your ectoplasm drains completely. Come nightfall, you and I will take a little ride. I have a very nice hole set up for you, that should keep you away from people for long enough to take you out of the picture permanently."_

_Her mind whirled. She hoped this abomination in front of her was wrong. Her gut told her that Gumball would find a way to save Penny. She just needed to stay alive long enough to be rescued as well. That's it!_

_She laughed. "I don't really think you know who you are dealing with. Any living thing nearby will be syphoned from to sustain me. You won't be able to isolate me enough to kill me!"_

"_Oh? Hmmm…" J-Sarah considered. "You may be right, thanks." Spinning around, J-Sarah pulled up a drafting desk. A few quick strokes and she spun it to show her captive. The drawing depicted a cell within a cell buried in the ground, the outer shell creating a bubble just large enough to keep her from receiving residual ectoplasm._

_She didn't say anything, to which J-Sarah chuckled darkly. "I think you should use the next 24 hours to say goodbye. That's about how long you have before I finish putting this together." With that, the possessed cone scuttled out the door._

Penny jerked awake. It was morning and she was on the couch in Gumball's house, covered with a blanket. The dream she'd had vivid in her mind she reviewed it carefully, committing it to memory and looking for any clue she might have missed. She knew it wasn't just a simple dream. There was no doubt in Penny's mind that these were the events of last night as seen by Carrie, maybe even in real time. She hoped they weren't too late.

"Carrie, Carrie, Carrie, Carrie, Carrie!" A voice coming from nearby drew her attention.

"Seriously Gumball, if it didn't work the last 15 times, what makes you think it'll work now?" Came a voice Penny pegged as Anais.

"Carrie told us a long time ago that you can summon _any_ ghost this way. We even did it at the time so we know it works." That was Darwin. Penny sat up to find Gumball, Darwin, Rachel, Anais and Lexy sitting at the table.

"She can't. She doesn't have enough energy to make a teleport." Everyone at the dining room table jumped at her sudden interjection.

"How do you know that?" Anais raised a skeptical eyebrow. Penny got up and walked toward the dining room.

"We talked a lot about how her body works now." Penny said, hesitating to share her dream. "And… and because I had a dream showing me where she is being kept and who is responsible for all this." She finished in a rush and sat down, not looking at anyone. Hearing it, it sounded even crazier out loud.

Gumball cleared his throat. "Penny…" She cringed inwardly. "Please, tell us everything." She looked up and there he was, looking at her steadily and expectantly. Anais's mouth hung open but she didn't say anything. Penny recounted the dream she'd had, carefully leaving out the bits about Carrie's feelings and the angst between the two of them.

When she finished, Gumball pulled out a picture. He smoothed out the drawing of Carrie, trapped in a glass tube. There in the corner of the drawing, was a generator. "Oh, come on!" Anais cried. "She could have seen that earlier! We could end up chasing a wild goose while something even worse is being done to her!"

Gumball held up a paw. He turned the picture over. "I wrote something down as soon as I woke up this morning so I wouldn't forget." He began to read and everyone's jaw dropped. Gumball described the same dream Penny had.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" Anais managed when she got her wits back. It was too similar to be coincidence. Penny wondered if that was the only reason he'd believed her.

"Honestly I'd still forgotten until Penny mentioned the generator." Gumball admitted miserably.

"Well why are we still sitting here?" Penny asked.

"Because _I_ still haven't gotten an explanation." Nicole said from behind them, making everyone jump.

Gumball, ever eloquent, managed to sum it up. "A girl possessed by an evil spirit of jealousy kidnapped and tried to kill Penny and Rachel and Carrie. Darwin, Lexy and I managed to save Penny and Rachel, but J-Sarah still has Carrie and is currently scheming to destroy her."

"Oh. Well that's fine then." Nicole shrugged speaking cordially.

The teens exchanged glances. "Really?" said Darwin.

"No! Are you out of your minds? Why didn't you call the police? You could have been seriously hurt! I cannot believe you were so reckless!" Nicole blasted her boys and recently recovered daughter.

Gumball went still. "Mom, I love you but you are wrong on this. There was a guard placed on Penny. No one else could have saved her."

"It's true!" Penny piped up, but a glare from Nicole quieted any further argument from her. Gumball was on his own; Nicole was a force unto herself.

"Are you crazy!? What exactly can you do that an armed officer of the law couldn't do?!" Nicole turned her glare on Gumball who, to his credit, didn't even flinch.

Standing up, Gumball rolled up his sleeves, revealing the stripes beginning to appear. He grabbed a pen and placed it on the table, then met his mother's glare. With a bit of a smirk, he said simply, "Don't blink."

The two stared at one another. One minute stretched to two and neither blinked. Penny didn't either, hoping to see him move. There is was. Gumball blurred and he was holding the pen. Blur. He was holding a blank drawing pad. Blur. He showed a drawing of Nicole with a mustache and thick eyebrows. Blur. He had a mirror in one hand and the drawing in the other.

Nicole touched her face while looking in the mirror. Her voice trembled slightly as she asked the question everyone wanted to know. "How did you do that?" Glancing over, Penny realized that Gumball had not only drawn Nicole's face in an impossibly short time, he'd drawn on her face to match the drawing and Penny had never him touch her.

Gumball shrugged as the stripes faded. He laid out the circumstances including the morning and afternoon's events. "When I figured out I could control it by concentrating, I started working on it. Still has a rough activation time and it makes me hungry and tired like crazy. I talked to Anais about it and she thinks it's a modified adrenaline state that burns calories really fast to give me a significant burst of speed and power. Makes sense given how tired it make me."

Nicole looked surprised. "And you understood all that? What have you done with my son?" Nicole looked as if she'd had the wind knocked out of her.

Rachel spoke up at this point. "Really? Your son has super powers but you're floored that he understood an explanation?"

"Hahaha! How about I take you home now Rachel? Your parents must be worried sick." Darwin jumped to intervene between his sassy girlfriend and volatile mother.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure I guess. Let me get my coat." Rachel headed upstairs.

"Oh, Darwin?" Nicole said sweetly.

"Uh-oh. Y-yes Mrs. Mom?" Darwin stuttered.

"I'd feel much better if you and that young lady stayed here. Gumball may have suddenly developed super powers, but you didn't and that girl is after Rachel, too right?" Nicole said seriously. Penny was impressed. Nicole may be scary, but she was an excellent mother. "Besides. I'd like to get to know the girl you are dating." Darwin groaned – Gumball and Penny couldn't suppress their grins.

"Speaking of which, Gumball. Do you know why Sarah targeted both Penny and Carrie? Not to mention Rachel." Anais said, a sly look on her face.

Gumball looked as if he'd swallowed a bug. "Well I know she took Penny and Rachel because of their relation to Darwin and I. Maybe she thought Carrie was a rival for my affection as well?"

Penny was confused. "What do you mean Darwin _and _you? Which one of you does she want to be with?"

Gumball rolled his eyes. "Oh. Both of us. In fact, 2 years ago she was stalking us." Gumball went upstairs. He came down with a video tape and played it for everyone. Penny mentally recoiled. The tape showed Sarah following them and doing various creepy things.

"That is really disturbing. Why do you even still have this?" Penny demanded.

"Insurance. We told Sarah if we caught her stalking us or doing anything else we would turn it over to the cops. Until now, we thought it had done the trick." Gumball shook his head sadly. "At first when we saw it we tried to cut ties. But then, we thought maybe she just wants some friends. We even did a skit she wrote to try to cheer her up but the ending was weird."

"Weird how?" Anais asked tilting her head quizzically.

"After fighting over her, we were supposed to share her. Darwin would get her for part of the week and I would get her for the other part." Gumball shuddered.

"You and Darwin were supposed to… share her?" Penny asked, a kernel of an impossible idea embedding in her mind. "How was that supposed to work?"

Gumball shrugged. "I don't know. Apparently it's called polygory… no poly, poly-something."

"Polygamy?" offered Anais.

"No… Polyamory! It's a multiple partner relationship where everyone knows what is going on. Polygamy is specifically marriage." Gumball shot at Anais. "Anyway, apparently, it works for some people, but the idea of doing that to someone? Treating them like a possession to be passed back and forth? I don't think it's fair."

Penny buried the idea that was nagging at the back of her mind. She wasn't even going to entertain such an insane thought.

* * *

Carrie watched as the sunlight coming into the shed weakened, changed from yellow to red and disappeared altogether taking with it her final hopes of rescue.

She heard the steps approaching and steeled herself. The time had come. She wished she'd had the guts to tell Gumball how she felt. The door opened and a familiar voice called out. "Carrie! Oh thank goodness." Penny ran over and killed the generator. "Can you phase through now?"

Carrie nodded, dumbfounded. "How-"

"No time. Gumball is keeping J-Sarah busy" Penny held out her hand. "Let's go!"

Carrie reached out, but hesitated. "But I-"

Penny sighed and rolled her eyes. "I don't feel like you betrayed me. And this isn't a ploy. In fact, there is an idea that has been bothering me since earlier, but we can talk about it later. Can you fly?" Carrie shook her head, still blasted by the way Penny had nailed down her thoughts. "No problem, come on!" Penny dragged her outside and transformed into a dragon. She bent her leg to give Carrie a step and only just let her sit before taking off.

"Wait! I know how to stop Jealousy!" Carrie shouted over the wind while Penny fought for altitude.

"Well, I am all ears!" Penny answered, momentarily sprouting about a thousand of them before she could stop it.

"Ok. Gumball should be able to do it, but I'll have to help." Penny craned her neck to look back at her friend. Carrie held up her hands, "Nothing dangerous, I just need to get close enough to push Jealousy out of Sarah. After that, Gumball can touch it."

Penny's eyes widened. "He can? How? And how do you know?"

Carrie blushed. "Yesterday when he changed the first time, I got hit by an energy wave so I got curious. I tried to phase through him but there was a residual flow of energy; even when I was intangible he was as solid to me as ever."

Penny was nodding thoughtfully. "I get it. When he's transformed, he can touch spirits – whether they like it or not…" Penny trailed off. And her eyes widened. "That must have been an… interesting revelation for you?"

"I haven't been able to explore my feelings on the matter." She sniffed, then acceded, "But it was kind of a shock. I just thank goodness it was Gumball and not one of those horn-dogs we call classmates." She shivered.

Penny nodded slowly. She seemed about to speak when a movement below them caught their attention. Gumball was straining to hold an enraged J-Sarah. Penny went into a dive and Carrie jumps just as she reach pulled up, tucking into a roll. A couple of bumps later, Carrie was sprawled awkwardly near Gumball and his struggling captive.

"Carrie! What are… you doing… here? Penny was… supposed to get… you to safety." Gumball managed between J-Sarah's thrashings.

Carrie dusted herself off. "And you will what? Hold her forever?"

Gumball nodded to his left. "Darwin and Lexy are bringing your spellbook to banish it. My idea." He grinned, and took an elbow to the nose for his trouble.

Carrie winced. "No need. I know the spell and you have to get him out of her first anyway." She took in his condition and looked at his grip on the Cone. She couldn't have him let her go. She came up with an idea, but was worried. J-Sarah got in a few more shots and made up Carries mind for her.

She rushed around behind Gumball. "This might feel weird, but you are going to have to trust me." Carrie formed her molded her body against the blue cat. "Here we go." Carrie took a deep breath, closed her eyes and went intangible.

She was on fire. She was plunged into the iciest water. The energy tearing through her was incredible and Carrie barely held on. Mentally she confronted the wild energy. She tried to force it to obey but it simply lashed back. She fought viciously to claim a little of the extra energy; she needed it to do what she felt she must.

Finally, she managed to tame a bit of the energy to her purpose. She and Gumballs hands were passing through Sarah, leaving the girl unharmed while they extracted Jealousy. Carrie opened her eyes to find herself eye to eye with the malevolent spirit. It immediately tried to possess her and she flinched, afraid of what it might reveal, but the energy flowing to her from Gumball protected her. _Oh, now you help me, _she thought wryly.

Speaking quickly, she intoned the words of the spell.

Orb of light, I summon thee with all my might,

This spirit bring us only blight, banish it now from my sight!

A ball of light swirled into being above them. Glowing brighter and brighter. Carrie sighed but it wasn't quite over.

Jealousy screamed in defiance. It thrust its face within inches of Gumball's "You created me. I swear I will destroy everything you hold dear. And _you_," the blob of resentment pointed a stubby finger at Carrie. "You will be his undoing, mark my words."

The spell finally finished casting and the orb of light enveloped the ugly green spirit before winking out of existence.

Gumball went limp and Carrie landed on her butt, his head on her lap. As their friends rush over, she couldn't get Jealousy's words out of her head. The possibilities they suggested made her feel sick.

"Carrie, are you ok?" Penny's hand rested comfortingly on her shoulder.

Carrie nodded. "I'm ok. Just really sore."

"Well, that _was_ something. What happened to just pushing him out?" Penny asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, you see-" Carrie was interrupted by a wave of exhaustion. She fought for consciousness as Darwin reached them.

"Did y… that?!" Darwin was shouting, eyes wide. "She… wings!"

Carrie tried to focus but she was so tired and couldn't quite make out Darwin's words. Even her thoughts were broken. _Wings? What is… no wonder Gumball…_ she somehow knew it didn't make sense and just gave up and let the darkness take her.

**Ok, bad news. I am going to slow down a bit. I have been writing like I'm possessed to make up for my long break, but I can't keep up the pace. I am going to try for a weekly post, but I'm thinking every other week is more reasonable.**


	7. The Aftermath

**The OC Lexy is the intellectual property of lexboss and was incorporated at her request. Also I don't own Gumball or anything else in these stories. As I mentioned last time, my posts will be spaced out a bit to give me a bit of a chance to take a breather between chapters. I know there are a couple of time gaps, but I'm sure if you consider it a bit you'll realize that I needed to keep the tempo up to maintain tension.**

Gumball woke up exhausted. The house was quiet as he dragged himself to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and tried to find the highest calorie thing he could. _Cheese – no. Bacon – no. Sluzzle worst… _It was only a few slices, but that should replace the calories he'd burned.

Grabbing the film-wrapped plate, he ripped the top and nuked it. He was watching it so carefully, he jumped three feet at the sound of Penny's voice.

"Makes you _that _hungry?" She said. Gumball could almost hear the smirk in her voice.

"Jeez, Penny. You almost gave me a heart attack." Gumball chided her, removing his "meal" from the microwave.

Crossing the kitchen, she took the plate from him. "If I almost did, this will." With that, Penny dumped it in the trash and pointed to the lone stool in the kitchen. "Sit." She directed him and busied herself around the kitchen, gathering pans, eggs, bacon, sausage, bread and butter.

Gumball smiled ruefully and did as he was told. "You better hope Dad doesn't find out you did that." Gumball chuckled as she shot him a look. "I'm serious. He worships that stuff."

Penny stopped a moment. "Then I guess it's a good thing he isn't here, _right Gumball_?" she asked pointedly, one pan in her hand raised and a playful glint in her eye.

Stifling a smile, Gumball rendered a mock salute. "Yes ma'am." He answered smartly and nearly choked when she nodded with a satisfied look and continued her activities. Leaning against the counter he took a moment to appreciate Penny's figure as she moved about the kitchen. His mirth was short lived however as started to look for Carrie.

A wave of guilt washed over him as he recalled Carrie plight and was immediately engulfed by a fresh wave of guilt at having forgotten. "Where is Carrie?"

He was headed for the door to look for her when Penny's arms around him stopped him. "Carrie is sleeping. After what you two managed, I think she deserves to rest."

"What did happen anyway?" Gumball asked. "I remember Carrie… hugging me, then things get sort of blurry. All I know is that wasn't the plan." He said pointedly.

Penny laughed. "You missed a real show, then. I don't know the full story, but you want a guess?" Penny raised an eyebrow at Gumball's attempt at a stern expression until he finally nodded. "Carrie said you can touch ghosts and spirits when you're powered up. Something to do with the energy flowing through you." Penny shrugged. "I _think_, think mind you, that she tapped into it. She used it to let both of you phase through Sara and pull Jealousy out of her. Then she used it to cast the banish spell we used before."

Gumball wasn't quite sure he understood, but something else was bothering him. "What do you mean I missed a show? None of that was really a show."

"Oh yeah! Well I think it was when she tapped into your energy, but when she hugged you, she sprouted glowing blue wings. Or maybe they were energy jets, but they looked like wings." Penny said as she placed bacon in the pan. "Anyway it must have really taken it out of you two, 'cause you've both been out for almost a whole day. It is almost sunset."

Satisfied that the people important to him were safe, Gumball tried recapture the mood he'd had but he couldn't. The thought he'd had before that this whole mess was his fault nagged at him. He sighed. He was wondering again if his new feelings for Carrie had been the cause for her abduction when Penny's voice cut through his ruminations.

"Why don't you talk it out? I do that sometimes when I'm having a problem with something." She said thoughtfully before looking pointedly at him. "Come on. Spill."

Gumball heaved another sigh. "I guess… I was trying to figure out something about the dream."

Penny nodded. "I noticed our versions were almost the same. But yours started when J-Sarah came into the shack. Was there anything before that?"

Gumball shook his head. "No. It was like I was seeing things from Jealousy's perspective. I didn't even get the view of outside the shed." Gumball brought his fist down on the counter. "It's almost like he was taunting me. Or, even worse, he may not have tried to show me at all. Since he was originally my jealousy gone out of control, we may have some connection." Gumball took a deep breath and steeled himself for the reveal. "That means that the danger you, Carrie and Rachel faced is all my fault."

The pain of that admission left him unable to continue, the lump of guilt in his throat halting his words and blurring his vision. Penny came over to stand in front of him but he avoided her eyes and the condemnation he expected to find there.

"Gumball," Penny said softly, "Trust me when I tell you that no one blames you." He felt her arms encircle him and she continued. "I can't deny that you made that thing. But I can't place responsibility for its action at your feet and neither should you. Sitting here and worrying about it won't solve the problem either, so let it go." Gumball could hear a touch of humor in her voice as she released him and added, "Given what you can do with anger and jealousy, I'd hate to see what you do with guilt."

The thought provoked an image of a dark grey cloud whining comically fast and Gumball smiled despite himself. He sat up, squared his shoulders and gave a big sniff to clear his nose. "Gross!" Penny told him with a playful shove. Gumball smiled.

"Thanks, Penny."

Penny shrugged, "What else are friends for?… What is that smell?" She scrunched up her face at the acrid smoky odor.

Gumball sniffed lightly. "Burning bacon." he said simply. They kept looking at each other for a minute before it dawned on them. "The bacon!" they exclaimed, eyes wide. Penny scramble to get the charred strips out of the pan.

Gumball's stomach growled loudly and Penny cut her eyes at him, but he noted she didn't bother to say I-told-you-so. She paused and asked, "How many eggs do you want? And it's over easy, right?"

"3, please and yes." Gumball answered. Silence descended for a few minutes. Gumball was just starting to wonder if he should say something when Penny spoke up.

"Tell me more about that polygamy thing." She said.

Gumball stared over at her. She seemed completely unconcerned, but he had lived with his mother long enough to know it could be a trap, so he answered carefully. "Well, it was polyamory… you know amor? It means 'love' in like 10 languages or something, and then poly means many, so it's literally 'many loves'."

Penny raised an eyebrow at him. "You seem to know an awful lot about it… why is that?" She questioned and Gumball swallowed. He did not like how this was developing but didn't think he could get out of answering either.

"Well, when Sarah brought it up, Darwin wanted to know why we couldn't. I thought she was talking about polygamy at the time and I know that is illegal." Gumball smirked. "Technically he won that argument – there is no law stating that you can't be romantically involved with more than one person."

Penny seemed satisfied and Gumball relaxed, too soon he realized. "Why did the thought of it bother you so much?"

Gumball sat thoughtful for a moment. The development in his feelings for Carrie had him considering the idea differently than he'd expressed. The idea of being both girls was thoroughly appealing and Gumball hated himself for even considering it. It didn't seem right, but neither did trying to compare the two girls as though he could simply point at one and say 'Ok, I'll take her.' He struggle to find an answer he thought she might accept, that would be true.

"When I was younger, I thought it was selfish and ultimately immoral." Gumball spoke slowly, considering his words carefully. "As I learned more about it, I rejected it. Now, honestly, I don't know." Gumball shrugged. "I just don't know in what circumstance it could work, you know?"

Penny placed a plate heaping with food in front of him. "What if Carrie wanted to be with you?"

Now Gumball was on full alert. Terrified that Penny had somehow guessed at his new affections for Carrie, he stuffed a sausage in his mouth to stall. Swallowing, he managed, "What do you mean? Carrie is just a friend."

Penny shrugged. "Hypothetically, let's say Carrie liked you and you liked her and me. You already know I like you. Would you consider it?" She asked the question as if it were totally innocent, but Gumball knew better. She was fishing for information, so he gave the answer he thought would satisfy her.

"Well, I think it might cross my mind, but, in the end, I don't think it would be fair to either of you and I think it would ultimately fail. So, no, I wouldn't consider it, or at least I wouldn't consider it past that." Gumball said, hoping the answer satisfied her.

Penny looked thoughtful for a moment and kissed him on the cheek. "That is exactly the kind of answer I expected, but it's still nice to hear it." Penny said before she got up. "You eat up, I need to head home for a bit. I need a shower to let my parents know I'm ok. See you!" She waved before she slipped out the door.

Gumball stared after her, feeling bewildered and a little guilty. When she had asked the question, an image of the three of them, living together and enjoying one another's company as they had all week, had made his heart leap, but he believed what he'd said. If romance were involved, it wouldn't be fair, and just couldn't work… could it?

* * *

Penny stormed into her room and slammed the door. She had explained everything to her father, and he had grounded her for lying and doing "who knows what else with that boyfriend of hers". She was furious that he didn't believe her. Her anger pulsed hot in her veins before she knew it, she had already changed into a hulking red beast and accidentally crushed the chair she meant to use in her oversized grip.

Penny sighed and took a deep breath. She used an exercise she had developed to gain control of her emotion. She imagined a flame, and slowly allowed it to occupy all her focus. Everything else dropped away and she was able to regain control of her form.

Back in her usually form, she took the crushed remains of the chair to her window and dropped it into the dumpster waiting below her window. Opening her closet, she pulled out one of the spares and sat down at her desk. She needed to think and she always found writing her thoughts out to be the best way to organize them.

First, she tackled the biggest thing on her mind – her father not believing her. _Why?_ she wrote. As she examined the key points of the story, she had to admit that any sane parent would reject such a tale. She felt he was a little insulting with his insinuation about Gumball, but given the intensity of her passion lately, she had to concede it wasn't outside the realm of possibility. She resolved to get Mrs. Watterson to corroborate her story and at least ease her father's fears concerning her chastity.

Next on her list was Gumball. She had made significant progress over the last week and felt that she could confidently drop by for a visit without ending up embarrassing herself. She wrote down a note that binding her wings locked her into a particular form. She would experiment with that later. It could be useful in a pinch, but she didn't want to rely on it. She was determined to develop full control over her ability and the binding felt like cheating.

Now she arrived at the final thought she needed to confront. It had been nagging her doggedly since it had occurred to her and she had tried repeatedly to bury it. Now, alone in her room, she allowed it to take form. _I want a way for all three of us to be happy, together. _She put her head in her hands and groaned. Ever since Carrie broke down in front of her, she had been feeling anguish over the issue. It had been even worse ever since that dream.

Experiencing Carrie's position had left a deep impression on her. She vividly recalled the despair Carrie had felt about Gumball ever feeling anything for her beyond friendship and the fear that Penny would feel betrayed by emotion beyond her control. Penny had been at a loss. She simply couldn't see any way to ease her pain, let alone help her… until Gumball had mentioned _that. _

Then, she couldn't get it out of her head. It seemed like the perfect solution. Why couldn't she and Carrie both have him? At first, she couldn't see anything to stop them, but obstacles had slowly presented themselves. Lifting her face from her hands, she began to write.

On her paper, she wrote Carrie, Gumball and her own name in a triangle. She added a heart and a two directional arrow between her Gumball. She soon had a heart and arrow drawn from Carrie to Gumball, a question mark with an arrow pointing from Gumball to Carrie and a heart with a question mark in the center with arrows pointing to each of them. Finally she added a big question mark between her and Carrie.

She considered her sketch and the obstacles it represented. First, she had to talk to Carrie. Well, that wasn't so much an obstacle as a requirement. They were eventually going to have to sit down and talk about Carrie's feelings regardless of this new possibility. She couldn't know how she might react to such a proposition just yet, so she would need to proceed carefully.

Next was the question mark of Gumball's affection for Carrie. He obviously considered her a friend, but could those affections be turned to deeper intimacy? She thought it was possible, if she and Carrie worked together. Recalling her conversation with Gumball, she made a note that they would have to overcome Gumball's preconceptions against the idea, as well.

She frowned now, think about that conversation. Gumball's final answer was as troubling as it was sweet. His consideration for her and Carrie's feelings was sweet. In fact, it was his unselfish consideration that she felt would be required make this possible, but he had raised another valid concern.

The question mark heart glared at her from the center of her triangle. The final major obstacle and the one she had no idea how to tackle. Assuming she could, in fact, get Carrie on board, and they could alter his affection for Carrie, how would they handle the addition of romance to the comfortable companionship they had so easily achieved? More importantly how would she or Carrie handle those more intimate displays of affection that would inevitably arise?

Penny sighed and looked hard at herself in the mirror. Was she honestly considering this? The idea was so alien to everything she knew. The time she, Gumball and Carrie had spent together over the last week had been the best she'd had, but the obstacles she would have to overcome were daunting…

Penny stood and ripped the page from her book. She folded it up and stuck it between her teeth as she lifted a board in the floor of her room. She couldn't afford her nosy little sister, or her dad accidentally finding this. She tucked it safely away next to a shard of her shell and a couple other sentimental items then she replaced the board.

She wasn't sure if she create the future she'd envisioned where she, Gumball and Carrie could be truly happy, but it was something she was willing to try for. She determined call Carrie the next day and ease her fears concerning Penny's friendship, but she decided to bring up the idea of a polyamorous relationship slowly, a little at a time. With any luck, it would appeal to her in the same way, and she might even have an answer for that final, question marked heart.

First things first though, she needed to call Mrs. Watterson and have her confirm their tale.

* * *

Carrie slept soundly on a foldout bed, oblivious to the entity staring hungrily at her serene face. Aretha Krueger, watched her daughter sleep, fighting the urge to feed. Her thoughts were disjointed, as if various voices clamored for attention inside her head.

She used a little energy to tap into her dreams.

_Carrie finished setting the table and called her family._

"_Honey, kids! Dinner's ready!"_

_The back porch rumbled with a single set of foot prints and a quick CRACK! CRACK! resounded as a blue haired little ghost girl and a pale haired, older ghost boy teleported into the dining room. The boy flipped his pale bangs in a familiar way, and quipped, "Beat ya, Dad!" as his father came in carrying a giggling baby girl in his striped arm._

_Gumball chuckled. "I suppose you did, but did you wash up?"_

_Sheepishly, the two children glanced at one another before shaking their heads. Gumball handed the baby to Carrie. He reached out and ruffled the two children's hair as stripes covered the rest of his body. The children's eyes lit up but Carrie rolled her eyes. "Gumball, what are you doing?"_

_Gumball shrugged. "What? I'm just priming my appetite." He managed an innocent look before he looked back at his children. "Ready? Three, two, one, Go!" his children flew off up threw the floor to the bathroom upstairs, while Gumball crossed his arm and slowly began to count to ten, giving them his customary head start._

_A shadow moved on the wall and Carrie was suddenly wary. Noticing the change in her, Gumball was on alert…_

Aretha was back in reality. She had almost been discovered just then, but it seemed she had come at an opportune time to carry out her plan. She salivated at the thought of finally satisfying this terrible hunger. As her daughter stirred, she flew out of the house.

She would find this Gumball and make her daughters dream a reality… sort of. The voices in her head fell silent at the triumphant insane laughter that burst from her as she flew off into the night.

**Ok, so we have finished the Jealousy arc (for now) and are moving on. Can Penny overcome the obstacles to such an unorthodox vision of happiness? How will Carrie respond? Can Gumball come to terms with his own emotions? And what exactly does Carrie's mother have planned? ****More questions to explore as the story continues. **

**P.S. If I have infringed on anyone's OC please let me know. I avoided lengthy descriptions and names just in case, but if anyone feels I have please let me know so I can either credit you or rewrite. Just so you know, I thought up this myself without outside influence, based on my own family situation.**


	8. The Invisible

**Hope you all are enjoying the story. I have several arcs planned, and am open to feedback about any errors or inconsistencies you find in my writing. We will pick up the tempo a little bit, but don't expect a ton of action out of this chapter. Don't worry though, we'll pick it up soon. I'd really like some feedback about how you feel I am developing the relationship triangle. Let me know if it seem too one sided. Well, diving in. Oh yeah, I don't own the characters, blah, blah, blah.**

Carrie sat at the mall. She checked the time on her phone. It was 1:53. She double checked the text one more time.

_Penny: Time 2 talk. Meet the mall tomorrow 2._

The words sent tremors of fear racing through her. What was Penny going to say? What was she going to say to Penny? Carrie fidgeted with her skirt. She was so immersed in her worries that she was surprised when she looked up to find a Cyclops sitting across from her.

"Hey, beautiful. You waiting for someone? My name is Rob, what's yours?" He winked his pink eye. At least she thought he winked, but Carrie couldn't tell; he might have only blinked. She forgot her worries for a moment at having to deal with this nonsense. Why had all the males in she knew become idiots irresistibly drawn to her except the goon she wanted and his goofy brother? She literally couldn't leave the house without attracting the unwanted attention of boys that had, until recently, ignored her very existence and couldn't even be bothered to figure out they already knew her.

She opened her mouth to tell him as much. "Why don't you go jump in a lake?" A familiar voice asked just a little too sweetly from her left. She turned to find Penny smiling at her.

Rob turned angrily toward her. "Why don't you mind your own business?!" He snarled before turning back to Carrie who was bristling at his treatment of her friend. "Now then, where were we? Huh? What's going on?" Rob's eye widened as he found himself lifted into the air. Carrie tried not to giggle at his bewildered look.

Carrie watched with some satisfaction as Rob discovered the source of his newfound freedom from gravity. He followed thick, muscular arm as in ended in a hulking red powerhouse. His mouth worked soundlessly for a moment before he finally shrieked and curled into a ball.

The looming monstrosity leaned in close and whispered so quietly even Carrie barely heard her. "I suggest you leave my friend alone and never bother her again. And tell your friends, 'cause I won't be as nice to the next guy." Carrie did her best to smile sweetly when Rob cautiously peeked around he was back once on the ground. He threw her a wild glance before scrambling out of sight.

When Carrie turned back, Penny was back to her glowing fairy self. Carrie raised an appraising eyebrow at the girl sitting across from her. "That was pretty dark for you, wasn't it?" She asked, still forgetting her earlier fears and simply falling into the usual banter.

Penny lifted her shoulders and smiled sheepishly. "To be honest, I didn't mean to do it, but I also don't think it was that excessive. He was being a creep to my best friend and he deserved more than he got." Penny covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. "Besides, did you see his face?"

Swept up in Penny's tempo, Carrie grinned. "Oh yeah. Priceless." The two girls burst into giggles and every odd look they received only sent them into further peals of laughter. Finally, they calmed down and caught their breath. Penny pointed at the nearby K. B. Nickle store. "Come on. I saw a shirt in there last week I think you'll love." She grabbed Carrie's hand and the two went into the store.

Inside, Penny lead her to a rack near the back. There were several frilly shirts and Carrie looked askance at her friend. "Uh, I don't know if you've noticed, but this stuff isn't exactly my style." She smiled to show she wasn't trying to be unkind. Penny held up her finger and ticked it from side to side, clicking her tongue.

"I appreciated your style, Carrie, but there is a gem over here that I think you'll love… now just where is it? Ah! Here, feast your eyes on this!" Penny spun and displayed the piece. It was a black, long sleeve T-shirt. The sleeves were lace and in had a swooping neckline. She wrinkled her nose at the lace but Penny rolled her eyes and grabbed her hand again. "Come on. You have to try it on first, trust me, you'll like it."

Carrie was dragged over to the changing room and stuffed inside with the shirt. Alone inside, she finally remembered why she was here; to talk to Penny about her feelings for Gumball. How was Penny taking it like this? Had she forgiven her? Penny stuck her head in. "What are you doing? Hurry up and put it on!"

Carrie quickly pulled off her shirt and Penny sucked in her breath. "I wish I had a figure like that." She said wistfully, eyeing Carrie's usually bra supported anatomy.

Carrie blushed and covered her chest. "You already saw what these things do to the males in our class. They aren't that special." She pulled the lacy shirt over her head.

"Not special enough to get the attention you really want?" Penny asked softly.

Carrie froze. So hear it was. She turned towards Penny, the apology dying on her lips when she found the girl look at her with eyes wet with compassion. For the first time, Carrie dared hope that Penny might understand, might forgive her.

"Penny, I want you to know that I would never -" Penny held up her hand and Carried stopped. Penny came into the changing room with her and sat down.

"You know, I have loved Gumball for a very long time. I never knew why, I just always thought he was kind of… amazing." Penny paused. "When I consider it intellectually, he wasn't exactly the cream of the crop, but I think I was attracted the dreamer in him." She said thoughtfully. "Then, when I started puberty, I lost control of my changes around him." She blushed. "I just couldn't seem to reign in my feelings. So I can understand not being able to control how you feel about someone." Penny smiled. "How did it start for you?"

Carrie was staring. Penny just kept looking expectantly at her while she got herself together and sat on the bench opposite her. Carrie had never expected to discuss this and she took a deep breath to steady herself and collet her thoughts. "I think it started back when he let me borrow his body. Not only did he do me a favor when I needed it, he also stood up to me and helped be when it became a problem." Carrie smiled fondly. "I've always admired him for that."

"Then there was Halloween. There was this party and Gumball agreed to go with me because I didn't have any friends at the time." Carrie laughed. "He, Darwin and Anais all took too much of a potion and turned into ghosts. After it was all said and done, they ended up in each other's bodies and it took me a week to find a spell to fix it."

"Gumball has always been there when I needed him, and always done what he could to help me." Carrie continued. "He is the only boy who always treated me like a normal girl. And when I went through my puberty, he was the only one who never treated me different. Even Darwin made a pass at me, at first. I would do anything to keep that friendship, even if that's all it could ever be." Carrie hung her head, tears falling unchecked from her eyes. Her tears fell even harder when she felt Penny envelope her in a comforting hug.

"I'm sorry." She croaked between sobs. "I do love him and I can't help it."

"Shhh." Penny stroked her back. "It's not your fault."

For a while, Carrie cried and penny just held her. Finally, her tears slowed and stopped. Pushing herself up, she asked the question she had had since earlier. "Why are you being so nice about this?" Carrie sniffed. "I'm glad you are but I don't understand."

Penny looked up, avoiding her eye for a moment. "When you were kidnapped, I dreamt I was you – that's how we found you. I saw what you saw, thought what you thought." Now Penny looked at her. "And I felt what you felt. It's hard to hate anyone you've understood on that level." Penny said simply.

Carrie nodded slowly, understanding a little from her own deliberations. "But what are we going to do?" Carrie asked, frustrated. "It's not like we could both have him."

Penny seemed confused. "Why not?" she asked with mock shock and Carrie couldn't help but giggle.

"But seriously what do we do?" Carrie pulled the conversation back to the matter.

Penny smiled. "We're 15. I think we should just enjoy being friends and let the whole Gumball thing figure itself out." She held out her hand.

Carrie took her hand, noticing as she did that the lace created patterns of skulls and tombstones. Grinning she said, "I would like that… and I like the shirt, too. Thanks."

Penny headed out. "I'll let you get dressed then we'll buy it. Afterword, I think I could go for a burger, you?"

"Yeah." Carrie said absently, suddenly deep in thought.

Penny stopped and looked back, a quizzical look on her face. "What's wrong?" She asked sounding concerned.

Carrie heard the worry in her friend's voice and shook herself. "Nothing, I was just… thinking." Carrie blushed, smiling sheepishly.

Penny didn't look convinced, so Carrie rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, I just was trying to remember something, but it's gone now." The lie wasn't pleasant for her but it was better than the truth. Penny nodded, still suspicious. After a moment, she turned to leave but Carrie was already so mired in her own thoughts that she didn't notice her friend leave or the enormous grin Penny was struggling to hide. The only thing in Carrie's head just at that moment were two words replaying over and over… _Why not?_

Page break.

Gumball was washing his car. He didn't even hear them pull up, but was pleasantly surprised when he turned around to see Penny's car just behind him and the two girls who were inside. For a second, he even forgot what he was doing and accidentally stuck the running hose in his pocket. His antics sent the girls into fits of laughter.

_At least the girls got a laugh out of that_, he thought. Cranking off the nozzle and grabbing a towel, he walked dripping wet over to the passenger window. "S'up Carrie? What are you two doing today? If you guys are here to be my hands, don't worry about that. Apparently the whole super metabolism thing heals me really fast. See?" Gumball flexed his fingers and fresh gleaming claws extended from their hidden place under his fur.

Carrie and Penny glanced at each other. "We were just out shopping. Carrie got a new top. I got something I want to show you. Mind if we get your opinion?" Penny shook the shopping bag at him.

Gumball smiled. "I don't mind, but don't expect me to actually have anything useful to say."

Penny and Carrie giggled. "That's fine. We already like what we got, it would just be helpful to have a male's perspective.

"Well I guess that makes me qualified." Gumball answered. "You guys go ahead. I need to get this hose put away. I be inside in a minute." Gumball walked back to his car as the girls made their way towards the house. He quickly rinsed the car and put the hose away before he went inside, hoping to get a chance to change into dry clothes.

The darkness inside the house surprised him, but his feline eyes quickly adjusted. He could hear the girls upstairs, already changing. There went his hopes of being dry… maybe there was something in the dryer. He made his way into the laundry room. No shirts, but at least he could change his pants and underwear.

Glancing toward the kitchen to make sure all was clear, he stripped down and tugged on the new skivvies and jeans. He was about to put the shirt back when a he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. All of a sudden, the atmosphere in the washroom feel heavy. Gumball felt the rush of adrenaline as stripes covered his arms. He slowly panned the room looking for the source of the uneasy feeling he'd had.

After a few moments, Gumball saw nothing further and decided to head back to the house. Just as he reached for the handle, the door swung towards him and he only barely dodged. He almost swore he heard a ghostly laugh that set his fur on end. He was starting to get a little creeped out when the thought occurred to him that it might be Carrie messing with him. _She forgot I can touch her like this_, he thought with a smirk.

Gumball focused like he'd practiced and within 20 second time seemed to slow. Moving quickly he moved all around the room but was confounded when he encountered nothing. Satisfied that she wasn't in the room, he returned to normal speed but held the concentration as he moved cautiously back into through the kitchen. When he got to the living room, he could her the girls talking and he stopped, listening.

"So what do you think?" Penny's voice asked.

"I think he'll like it. Do you think you'll change back?" Carrie asked.

"I think it'll stick. I had to concentrate to stay like I was earlier so I think it's a permanent change." Penny answered.

Gumball was intrigued. _What happened to Penny? _The thought was barely finished before he felt the uneasy atmosphere surround him. He could still hear the girls' voices upstairs and his eyes narrowed. This wasn't Carrie, then. Unsure it would help, he readied himself to go Zip… he mentally noted that the name needed work.

He stood stock still and waited. After nothing happened, he decided to go towards the door. Just as he'd hoped the door started to swing towards him and he immediately activated his speed. At first he found nothing, but after a couple of seconds his hand closed on an arm that he couldn't see. He dropped out of speed and yanked on the arm.

Gumball hadn't been as surprised since Jamie had apologized a couple years ago. When he yanked on the invisible arm it didn't budge. Whatever or whoever he'd just grabbed, grabbed him by the throat and expressed a _lot_ of displeasure at his actions. The growl filled his ears and thrummed in his chest.

Gumball was lifted into the air and thrown back. He twisted in the air and landed softly on his toes, ready to meet his attacker but the oppressive feeling was gone. After a few moments he was relatively certain that whatever it was had gone. Letting his adrenaline drop, his body sagged with the expected exhaustion, but his mind was wide awake. _Just what in Elmore was that, _he wondered.

He heard the girls upstairs opening the door. He had forgotten about them. He knew how he looked just now and he didn't want to worry them so he summoned his speed once more. He rushed to the kitchen and ate a ridiculous amount of food. He stayed powered up for just a few seconds as his body digested the food and came out of it feeling only a little winded.

He timed it pretty close and was just coming into the living room as the first set of feet came into view on the stairs. He leaned back against the couch and watched Carrie descend the stairs, his invisible attack all but forgotten. She was wearing a black shirt with lace sleeves and a pair of white pants. The pants outlined and accented her shapely legs and bottom, a fact that was not lost on the appreciative Gumball. He just managed to stop short of ogling her as she came to stand in front of him.

He almost lost it when she put her arms behind her back and bit her lip apprehensively. _Holy crud, she's cute, _he thought, mouth open. "So what do you think?" Carrie asked, looking up at his through her lashes.

Gumball wet his lips and swallowed. "Well, to be honest, you look kind of amazing."

Carrie flashed him that same dazzling smile she'd fried his wits with before the whole injury situation. She started to give him hug but stopped. As he watched her take in his unclad chest, he unconsciously flexed before he could stop himself and was rewarded with a gasp from her before she tagged him in the arm.

"Geez, you could have at least put a shirt on." She grumped.

Gumball laughed. "I'm sure that would have gone over well, coming into the room while you two were changing."

Carrie turned a delightful shade of pink and gasped in indignation. "You wouldn't dare!" She cried punching him in the arm again.

Gumball was laughing hard now. "Stop! Stop! It's starting to hurt." He rubbed the victimized shoulder.

He was still laughing when Penny cleared her throat and gumball turned towards her. And then his brain stopped. It was Penny, but she was different. Her figure had undergone a dramatic change. Now she resembled Carrie a bit, but her frame was leaner and more athletic where Carrie was decidedly more voluptuous.

She was wearing a light blue sun dress that when well with golden complexion and really brought out the blue in her eyes. Gumball's eyes couldn't help but trace the new contours of her breasts to the slim waist and the slight bump of hips that filled out the dress perfectly. Her face was a little thinner and she had golden hair pulled back into a pony tail, but the familiar antlers and wings were still there. Gumball hadn't thought she could have gotten prettier, but he was happy to be wrong.

"Extraordinary." He breathed the word as he gazed at her and was rewarded by the flicker of recognition in her eyes at his use of the word. He'd used the same to describe her when she first removed her shell and it was still appropriate.

Carrie was grinning. "You should have seen it… or maybe not. We were shopping and she saw that dress. She said she wished she had the kind of figure to wear it." Penny flushed as Carrie continued trying not to laugh. "Then, poof. She was standing in the middle of the store stark naked like that." Carrie finally lost the battle and began laughing.

Penny was eyeing her coolly. "You didn't think it was quite so funny at the time. I'm just thankful that someone was there to notice and help me out. I've never actually worn clothes before and didn't know what how the sizes worked for underwear and stuff."

Gumball was trying very hard to contain himself. He had just had to deal with a lot of mental images and his pants wear feeling rather tight. "What do you think happened?" He addressed the question to both of them.

Carrie just shrugged, but Penny frowned as she considered it. "Actually, I had been unhappy with the way I was for a while now. I felt like my body wasn't developing and I wanted it to change. I'm going to have to sleep on it, but I think it happened because this is the way I wanted to be." She smiled then. "It really is exactly how I wished I would look… what do you think?" She asked holding out the skirt.

Gumball chose his words carefully. "I think you are as beautiful as ever and if you are happy with it, then so am I…" Both girls' looks darkened, so he just decided to heap it on. "Ok, fine! You look incredible, both of you, and I am the luckiest guy to ever give his opinion. So what's the occasion?" He asked as he crossed his arms, this time consciously flexing and enjoying watching Penny's eyes drift over his own body.

Carrie nudged him. "We thought we should treat you to dinner, considering how you saved us."

Gumball frowned. "That's not-"

Penny rolled her eyes at him. "Look, Gumball. The fact is you are the reason we were saved. Now go get dressed. Casual but nice, like us. And hurry up we need to be there by 5 p.m."

Gumball glanced at his watch - 4:13 p.m. "Do I at least have time for a shower?" he asked.

A few hours later, Gumball happily to the girls and closed the door. After dinner at Kiwi Fly's, they had caught a horror flick and a sappy romantic comedy at a double feature. Gumball wouldn't admit it but he'd liked both movies.

He turned to head up the stairs when the forgotten eerie presence surrounded him. Too late, he tried to power up, but found he couldn't. Gumball realized he couldn't do anything at all and he recognized the feeling of being possessed by a ghost. While he struggled to move he heard a voice in his head.

_That's quite an interesting trick you have there. _ The voice, if you could call it that, chuckled softly._ I hit the jackpot. You have enough energy to feed me for eternity. Now then how do you use it?_ Gumball felt a pressure on his mind as whatever this was dug around in his head for information. _Hmm. It looks like I can't touch it… but I can still use you._

_Who or what are you? _Gumball thought at the voice.

_Oh you can call me Mom. After all, you will soon be marrying my daughter. _ The voice offered no further hints, but Gumball had a guess.

_Carrie's Mom? She and I are friends. Why would you do this to me? _Gumball asked the ghost controlling him.

He got the mental impression of hunger from the entity in his head. _I need you and that offspring of mine to provide me with fresh souls to eat._

Gumball recoiled in horror. _There is no way that is going to happen._ He gather himself and railed at the force occupying his mind. He may as well have attacked a brick wall. _Carrie isn't going to fall for this, Carrie's Mom._

_Oh! Dear, do call me Aretha. Or better yet, sleep. This is hard enough without your distractions._

Gumball struggled but couldn't stay awake. _Carrie! Carrie, don't let her…_ Gumball knew no more.

**Uh oh. What is Aretha going to do? Will Carrie find out about her mother's ruse before it is too late? Who knows? Hit me with your feedback, I am losing perspective.**


	9. The Mind

**So what will happen to Gumball? Will Carrie be able to tell that all is not well? OC's are not mine, Gumball is not mine. Only the plot is mine, and any coincidence with future or current shows is unintentional. Please review or you suck.**

"Carrie! Carrie don't let her!" Lexy woke up screaming. She looked around and for a moment and didn't know where she was. The landscape was dominated by towers of boxes and in the dim light she had the odd feeling of being a giant waking in the middle of a metropolis. It wasn't until the grandfather clock in the hall chimed that she remembered. She was in Priar's house.

Lexy had come back here just after she and her new friends had rescued Carrie. Lexy shook her head. She had never seen so many seemingly impossible things occur so quickly. From her own transformation to the living ghost who banished a concentrated spirit of jealousy, Lexy had had more then she could take in so short a time. She also had to meeting the movers and

Now she couldn't shake the feeling that Gumball was in trouble. Again. Trusting in whatever connection she had with the blue cat, Lexy grabbed her phone and dialed Carrie's number. She listened while it rang and until the girl's voice answered on the other side.

"Hello?" Carrie asked groggily.

"Carrie?" Lexy didn't wait to confirm. "Hey, listen I need you to check on Gumball for me."

"What?" Carrie suddenly sounded much more alert. "What's wrong?!"

Lexy bit her lip. "Um. Well, I don't know… I just woke up calling your name and I have a bad feeling." Lexy sighed realizing how she sounded. Carrie surprised her though.

"I'm supposed to meet him at the mall this afternoon, but I'll check on him as soon as I get ready." Carrie told her.

Lexy gaped at the air in front of her for a minute before she caught herself. "Thanks. I realize it must sound crazy, so it means a lot that you'd believe me."

The sound of Carrie's laughter surprised her. "Look Lex, when it comes to Gumball, anything is possible. I mean you spent 3 days around him and look at all that happened. I've spent years around the guy; I'm willing to go on a little faith."

When Carrie mentioned the time she'd spent with Gumball, Lexy was reminded of the last time she'd actually talked with her. Guilt swept over her and she wanted to apologize. "Oh yeah, ummm… I wanted to tell you I'm sorry for that thing I said."

Carrie's voice softened. "It wasn't your fault. I have a feeling it would have come out eventually anyway." Carrie sounded resigned and Lexy's heart went out to her.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

Carrie brightened. "Penny and I had a talk. We don't want this to come between us. She said we can let the Gumball thing figure itself out."

Lexy was confused. "But what will you do? You can't both be with him."

Now Carrie's voice took on a serious note. "Why not?"

Lexy was speechless for a moment. When she finally found her voice she sputtered, "B-b-because you just can't!"

Carrie calmly reiterated her question. "Why?"

Lexy had to think a minute. "Isn't it illegal?"

"It is illegal to be married to more than one person, but nothing says you can't be romantically involved with any number of partners." Carrie said matter-of-factly.

"But won't there be a problem with your friendship? And what would people think?" Lexy struggled to understand the other girl's alien attitude.

"Honestly, the only people whose opinion matter to me on this issue are Penny's and Gumball's," she said firmly. "As for jealousy," Carrie sighed, "try to imagine that you had a best friend, and found out both of you loved the same guy. It isn't like you did it on purpose, right? So why get mad?"

"Okay. I could see you guys still being friends," Lexy relented. "But are you sure you aren't just grasping at straws? I understand your position in all of this undesirable. I mean Gumball likes Penny already, right? Why would she share with you?"

Carrie was silent for a moment. "You have a point, I guess," she finally admitted. "I just haven't been able to get it out of my head," she explained. "I mean these are the people I care most about. It wasn't too big of a leap to think about caring about and living with both of them." Carrie sounded a little despondent.

Lexy sighed. "Look. I am not saying it can't happen. I just didn't want you to end up like Sarah, idealizing a situation that no one else wanted." She paused thinking. "If you really are serious about this, I suggest you bring it up to Penny. The kind of thing you are talking about can't happen without complete honesty."

Carrie didn't answer for a moment and when she did, she was hesitant. "Do you think it could work?" she asked hopefully.

"'When it comes to Gumball, anything is possible' right?" Lexy asked with a smile.

Carrie laughed. "Right. Well I need to get ready if I'm going to go check on him. Will you be back soon?"

Lexy groaned. "Yeah, soon. I have to get a transcript from my school and I finished packing so the movers are coming today. I should be back tomorrow."

Carrie sucked in a breath sympathetically. "Well good luck with that. Bye!"

The phone disconnected before Lexy could answer. She didn't know how it could work, but she hoped it could anyway. "Good luck to you, too." She said before she put the phone down got on with her day.

Page break

_CRACK!_

Carrie teleported into the designated "telepad" she, Penny, and Gumball had set up on his roof… well, she and Penny anyway, but it had been Gumball's idea. She smiled at the memory.

Gumball had been listening to Carrie explain how her body worked to Penny and had deduced that if she teleported into someone, it might constitute possession and might exhaust her. Thus the telepad where that wouldn't be an issue.

Carrie had been touched. She hadn't considered it, but it was actually a really smart thing to do. In fact, she intended to set up a telepad at the high school just before the first semester started. She went intangible and phased through the roof towards Gumball's room.

It was dark inside and Carrie couldn't see a thing. She felt her way over to the light switch and turned it on. Gumball's head was visible above the blanket that rose and fell with the deep, steady breaths of slumber. Satisfied that Gumball was safe, Carrie phased back out of the house and up to the roof.

She thought hard about what she was now considering. She knew that if she brought this up, if might be the end of her friendship with Penny. Lexy had been right. Penny had the upper hand in this, so she had less reason to worry and really no incentive to consider this option aside from her expressed desire to remain friends.

Carrie, on the other hand, had every reason to push for this. Gumball had expressed no romantic interest in her and she had never given him an inkling of her attraction to him. Penny might think that she was simply trying to get Gumball any way she could, but Carrie had considered the possibility in herself and rejected it. The thing was, she wasn't just interested in her own happiness. Though she loved Gumball, she cared for Penny with equal intensity, if not quality, and wanted her to be happy as well.

Carrie sat down, examining her feelings for Penny. She wondered if it was like the love of a sister and the thought comforted her. She really liked the idea of Penny being her sister. She'd never had a sister, but Penny was everything she would want in a sister: kind, thoughtful and always there for her.

Carrie made up her mind. She stood up, squared her shoulders and winked out.

_CRACK!_

Carrie was on top of Penny's house. She smiled when she saw the telepad-in-the-making next to Penny's window. She hadn't known Penny was doing that and the thought touched her and bolstered her confidence. The house behind the window was dark so she silently floated across the shingled roof and tapped softly.

Thump! CRASH!

A chair flew through the window and Carrie, who barely had time to go intangible. A guttural voice rang dangerously from inside. "What did you DO?!"

More furniture followed the chair and Carrie flew forward, bewildered. "What do you mean?" she cried helplessly, lost as to the reason for her friend's anger.

"Gumball called me last night," the voice cracked as it spoke. "He said he never wants to see me again, and that he's going to marry you!" The last word was punctuated with a grunt and a large vanity arcing out of the hole in the side of the house.

Carrie was so stunned she forgot to go intangible and the vanity caught her in the chest. She sailed with it for a few seconds before she could manage to phase through it. She had never been so torn. On the one hand, she was elated at this indication that Gumball cared for her but the gut wrenching anguish she felt for Penny swallowed it entirely.

Carrie had an epiphany then. All at once, she understood several things. First, she now knew that it wasn't pity that drove Penny to comfort her. Carrie understood why Penny had consoled her, as she now wished desperately to do for Penny.

She also knew that she couldn't accept this situation. She could clearly see that there could only be one acceptable outcome so long as both she and Penny still loved Gumball. She knew it was now or never to do this, so she sucked in a breath and shouted, "So, what!? When things get flipped, did you think I would just take him and fly off into the sunset!?"

Penny's gruff voice suddenly when high pitched. "Huh? I don't understand."

Carrie took advantage of this break in her anger. "I know what you are feeling. What do you think the past three years have been like for me?!" Carrie shouted, tears welling up as she finally vented the frustration she'd held in check all this time. "'It's hard to hate anyone you've understood on that level.'" Carrie quoted her friend softly. "It's also hard not to love them like a sister!"

Carrie was really picking up steam now. "Do you really think I could do anything to make Gumball drop you like that?! Or that I would even want to?!"

"Well, no. I mean, I guess I… uh -" Penny stammered before Carrie cut her off. She couldn't risk losing her momentum now.

"I don't want him if it means you have to go through what I've gone through." Carrie sobbed. "I'd rather give him up completely." Penny's shape appeared in the hole she created in the side of the brown house and Carrie rushed forward and jumped into the other girl.

_Carrie? _Penny's thoughts were jumbled and chaotic as they brushed against her own._ What are you doing? __This is weird._

Carrie concentrated. _I want you to see how I feel now. I didn't know if you would listen so I decided to show you._

Penny's thoughts felt worried. _Won't this deplete your energy?_

Carrie felt warm. Penny did care about her. She decided to try something. It might be dangerous, but she was willing to risk it.

_Penny, listen. _Carrie tried to think comforting thoughts. _I want to give you something. This might feel funny. We are going connect our minds a little._

Carrie felt Penny's surprise and fear. _Don't worry. The worst that can happen is I might get lost in your consciousness. I won't have any control over you or you over me. It's like a blood sister ritual that I can do just a little stronger._

Penny relaxed a little. _Are you sure you are ok?_

_Eh, don't worry. I'm not actually possessing you. _Carrie's thoughts tinkled and Penny's thoughts contorted in confusion.

_I laughed. _Carrie told her. _Now then, will you do this?_

Carrie could feel her eagerness and her apprehension. _What will it be like?_

Carrie understood her uneasiness. _If it works, we will be able to sense each other. I would always be able to find you and vise-versa. If we were near each other and we want to, we can talk like this without me jumping inside you. You and I are different from normal girls, though, so who knows?_

_Are you sure about this? What if we end up hating each other? _Penny worried.

_Penny, do you feel this? _ Carrie concentrated on the love she had for Penny.

_What is that?! _Penny's thoughts were amazed. _It's like a warm hug times a thousand!_

_It's… _Carrie hesitated. _This is how I feel about you._

_Uhh… you know I'm not like that right? _Penny's mind recoiled a little.

Carries thoughts tinkled again. _It's not like that. It's more like a sister. I care about you and I need you to be happy. And I am willing to go to extraordinary lengths to achieve that._

Penny was suddenly decisive. _What do I need to do?_

_Just think about me, _Carrie thought, _and I think about you. Then we let our minds overlap. From then on, when one of us thinks about the other, we will be able to sense them, even tell how the other is feeling._

_So we can turn it on and off? _Penny asked, intrigued.

_Yeah. But can we hurry? I can't maintain this much longer. _Carrie was feeling tired.

Immediately Carrie felt Penny's mind warm and brighten. The feeling contracted and concentrated. Okay, Penny was ready. Carrie focused and soon she had a similar area in her thoughts. The two minds merged at that point. Then they kept going. Carrie realized too late that they were fusing.

Carrie struggle to separate the from her, but Penny's confident psyche was dominating her and drawing her in to incorporate Carrie into her own mind. Carrie kicked herself. This was why spiritborn usually didn't do this. Without a physical brain to anchor her mind her entire sentience could be absorbed by another. Just as she was giving up hope, Carrie felt a surge within her that she instantly recognized.

A blue burst of Gumball's energy tore through her mind and concentrated on the point where the girl's minds connected. Penny's thoughts were terrified but Carrie soothed her with by concentrating on calm feelings. She focused on her mind and on what Gumball's leftover power was doing, fascination overcoming fear.

It melted into their shared mind space and raced towards the girls' minds. She braced herself for the burning heat she remembered from her first encounter. Instead she was enveloped in a warm, tender sensation as the power she'd borrowed from the blue cat suffused her mind. She relaxed at first, but tensed as the warmth became heat finally a burning power.

Suddenly everything contracted and the two minds were repulsed from one another. Instantly, the two were separated into their own bodies and staring at each other panting. Carrie could still feel something happening and focused her mind inward to watch. The string connecting their minds glowed with the energy Carrie had gotten from Gumball.

She didn't know she still had it. She focused on the connection and she heard Penny gasp. When Carrie looked back at herself, she had transformed. She was a dragon just like Penny could turn into. She had a thought.

"I'll give it a try," Penny answered and Carrie blinked. She hadn't said anything yet. "I can hear you thinking… Yeah it probably is because you are using my abilities." Carrie and Penny stared at each other.

"This is _so_ weird!" they spoke in unison. Carrie turned off the connection and she was back to being a, relatively normal, spiritborn. Her mind was suddenly flooded with Penny's thoughts.

_Am I doing it right? How do you activate the powers? What power do I want to use?_

Carrie concentrated and the thoughts trickled down to a manageable level. She picked up a broken bit of wood. "Yes you're doing it. Picture the idea of intangibility."

Penny stared at her, the thought coming through the link. _Wow, that _is_ weird. Okay intangibility, intangibility._

Carrie tossed the wood and it passed through the other girl. _Oh, wow. This will take some getting used to. What the heck was that anyway?_

"_That_ was some of Gumball's energy." Carrie explained and Penny gaped at her.

_Some? _"Some?" Penny demanded. _Just how much power does he have? _"Just how much power does he have?"

Carrie's head hurt from the echo. "Could you please turn it off? I can hear you twice and it's confusing."

"Sorry," Penny apologized. "Anyway, what happened? I can't imagine that was the way it was supposed to go."

Carrie shook her head. "I messed up somehow. Our minds were completely fusing and I was going to become part of you. Gumball's power saved me, though. It separated us and latched onto the connection. It's different then what is was supposed to be."

"What do you mean 'fuse'? Like we'd be one person?" Penny stared at her.

Carrie cringed. "More like I would become a little pocket of memories and kind of cease to exist." Her voice got higher as she spoke and watched Penny's face get angrier.

"YOU COULD HAVE _DIED_?!" Penny screamed, furious.

Carrie nodded meekly. Penny took a deep breath and Carrie felt a tug on the string in her mind. Then she was in Penny's mindscape. Carrie could feel the anger, but mostly she could feel relief and sorrow. Suddenly, she was back in her own head, and Penny was glaring at her with wet eyes.

"Don't you ever be that reckless, ever, again. What would I have done without you? What would I tell Gumball when he wants to know where you are?" Penny asked plaintively.

Carrie grabbed her own arm and rubbed it uncomfortably. "I'm sorry. I just really wanted to talk to you about something but then you were throwing things and I didn't think I could say it the right way."

Penny looked at her for a moment. "I'm sorry about that. I never realized just how it felt to be in your position. I mean, I knew how you felt, but I'd never had to actually experience it." It was Penny's turn to look uncomfortable and ashamed of what she'd done.

The girls sat in awkward silence for a bit until Penny finally asked, "So what did you want to talk about?"

Thankful for the opening, Carrie grinned and shrugged. "Gumball, what else?" She was thoughtful for a moment and then asked, "How did you pull me into your mind?"

Penny smiled. "I imagined reaching through the tunnel and pulling you through."

Carrie grinned. "Get ready for a ride, then." She focused on the thoughtform Penny had described. After a second, she was looking down on an image of Penny as if from a great height in her mindscape. _Give me a second, _she thought and Penny's form nodded.

After a minute, Carries mindscape exploded in activity where scenes involving her, Penny and Gumball played out. Over the course of a few seconds, Carrie showed Penny her vision of them living, laughing, and, eventually, loving together. The final scene was the most compelling and showed the three of them working in concert to raise the children they'd engendered as a single, unified family.

When it ended, Carrie released the connection and Penny was looking at her silently. Carrie began to fidget uncomfortably, questioning whether she should have done this or not. She was about to apologize when Penny suddenly wrapped her up in a hug!

"Oh! I knew if I put the idea in your head you'd find the answer!" Carrie gaped at her and Penny grinned slyly. "Why not?" she said with mock shock, perfectly imitating herself before. "Why not, indeed?" she asked more seriously. "If other people can manage it why not us?"

"Wait, wait. You mean you _meant_ to put this idea in my head?" Carrie asked indignantly. "And you let me be the one to put myself out there?" She grabbed a pillow off Penny's bed and threw it at the girl. It passed right through her, but Carrie was too irritated to process that right then. She slugged the girl in the shoulder.

Penny fended off her attack. "Look, come here." Penny guided her to the other side of her bed and lifted the brown carpet, revealing the hardwood floor. She lifted up a board and pulled out a piece of paper. Penn gave the paper to Carrie and she looked at it. A lot of the writing was incoherent scribbles, but a diagram with hers, Penny's and Gumball's names and several question marks stood out to her.

Carrie looked up at Penny who started to explain. "I had the idea, but I couldn't see any way to make it work. I didn't know how to prevent animosity between you and me." Penny said sadly. "So, I set out to try to build our friendship, but you latched onto the idea almost immediately. You've even found an answer for every question but one!" Penny exclaimed excitedly.

Carrie was confused. Penny tapped her own head. "This connection thing makes us closer than most lovers," Penny said. "It gives us a link to understand each other and communicate better than anyone else on the planet. We may not always agree, but we will always be able to see the other's perspective – literally."

Carrie nodded excitedly. "It gives us a connection that we would have been struggling to maintain otherwise!"

Penny continued. "Plus your little mind movie was the best example of how to maintain a successful relationship between the three of us. Sure, there may be certain things we'll have that are unique to us with Gumball, but the important thing is inclusion. In your head it was about being with Gumball _and _me." Penny face-palmed. "I couldn't get around intimacy, but even that was together – everyone trying to make sure everyone else was happy."

Carrie frowned. "So what is the last question?"

Penny looked at her levelly. "How to get Gumball to fall in love with you, too. But now I guess it'll be how to get him to fall back in love with me…" Penny trailed off sadly.

Carrie's clouded in anger. "Why don't we go find out about that?" Carrie said firmly. Penny shot her a confused look so Carrie elaborated. "I have trouble believing that Gumball would ever willingly tell you he never wanted to see you again. I think it may be Jealousy."

Penny's eyes narrowed and Carrie could feel the girl's anger and dislike for the spirit. "Didn't you just re-banish it?"

Carrie nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, but I keep remembering what it said just before the banishing spell completed." Carrie shuddered. "It promised to destroy everything Gumball cared about, and told me I would be his undoing."

"So, you're thinking; maybe, he's possessed by it again?" Penny suggested.

"Maybe. If so, he called you and told you off to make us fight, or to make you jealous so he could possess you." Carrie explained.

"I'm guessing you have a plan?" Penny asked hopefully, sitting down on her flower design bedspread and hugging her knees.

"Even better, we have a secret weapon," Carrie answered with a grim smile. "We have you."

Page break

Aretha woke in the boy's body. She check to make sure her dreamsnare was still in effect. She peeked into his dreams and laughed. The child was obviously delusional if he thought two girls would ever agree to such a ridiculous proposal. Still, he probably didn't think it was possible either. The dreamsnare was a powerful thoughtform that trapped the victim in a dream of their ideal world. It was self-reinforcing because the victim simply didn't _want_ to leave.

She grinned maliciously. It was the perfect trap. She sat the cat's body up and a change came over her. For a moment, the voices in her mind rose like a tidal wave, trying to drown out her consciousness. She covered her ears, unconsciously singing along with one of the voices – a little lullaby she could remember singing to… someone. The moment passed and she was herself again while she took stock of her surroundings.

A small cramped room with a bunk bed against the wall, a ratty nightstand and an incredibly dated computer adorning a rickety desk insulted her eyes. She wrinkled the boy's nose in disgust. Was this cat really the best her failure of a daughter could do? Well, it really didn't matter, so long as they could provide her with the sustenance she required.

Aretha wondered what she should do now. She checked the boy's memory and used that to go through his usual morning activities without attracting attention. She review her plans in the meantime. She had already dealt with the pesky shapeshifter girl. Now she needed to start taking advantage of Carrie's obvious attraction to this boy.

She opened the cat's phone to send her daughter a text inviting her to an unpopulated park of the nearest park and was surprised. A text from Carrie? Aretha read it.

_Gumball, I'm so happy you want to be with me! Meet me at the over by the graveyard, back near the woods, where no one can bother us. And make sure to come alone. I'll be waiting, XOXO – Carrie._

Aretha felt a wild chuckle bursting to get out. This was too perfect! The girl was practically giftwrapping herself. She texted back a quick "_Be right there!"_ Then she used Gumball's voice to call out, "Dad, I'm going out for a bit!"

The boy's fat, stupid sire popped his head out of the kitchen. "Okay, son. Call if you won't be back before dinner!"

Aretha controlled the cat's body to grab the rope she'd prepared, just in case. She had slowly coated the rope with ectoplasm. If Carrie didn't do the deed willingly, she had a Plan B. She wanted to make sure this boy, with his boundless energy pool was the one to produce a spiritborn progeny with her daughter.

She drooled at the thought. With such a soul to supply her, she might never need to feed again. She cackled madly as she stated the engine and drove towards the graveyard and an end to this cursed hunger.

**Wow… I didn't know how that was going to go at first. Can someone make sure the dialog with Carrie and Penny during the whole mindmeld thing isn't confusing and has a natural flow?**


	10. The Picnic

**So what do Carrie and Penny have planned for "Gumball"? And what is the matter with Carrie's mother? OC's are not mine, Gumball is not mine. Only the plot is mine, and any coincidence with future or current shows is unintentional. Please review or you suck.**

_**Reader beware! Portions of this chapter may be disturbing, unsettling or downright distasteful. It if helps, skip to the end to have that portion ungraphically recapped.**_

Carrie stood on a rise near the edge of the forest of doom. She was waiting in the shade of a gnarled old oak, fidgeting anxiously. From her vantage point, she could see the graveyard dotted with crumbling tombstones sprawling across the adjacent hill. She worried again about this plan.

_Geez, girl, chill out. _The foreign thought popped into her head. _You look more nervous than Gumball during a pop quiz._ Penny's thought was punctuated by the odd tinkling sensation of mirth.

_I don't know why you're having so much fun with this, _she thought at her invisible friend hiding quietly among the leafy boughs of the hunched oak and huffily crossing her arms. _That text was _so _embarrassing! I may as well have sent a naked picture with "Come get me!" written on it and he is rushing here like I just rang the dinner bell. _Carrie though vehemently.

A feeling of hurt poured through the link and Carrie immediately regretted what she'd said. She looked down at the grass covered ground and kicked a root poking stubbornly above the ground. _Sorry, I'm just worried about him, you know?_

Penny mentally shrugged at her. _It's alright. We can't expect to get the hang of this right away. And I'm worried too._ Carrie got the impression of a smile. She smiled, too. She was kind of amazed that they had reached a resolution so quickly.

_Well not quite, _she thought privately. It was obvious that they still weren't completely comfortable with a polyamorous relationship. She wondered how much effort and time it would take to get that comfortable. Her ruminations were cut short by the sound a car engine.

Carrie looked across the field and watched as Gumball's car slowed and stopped. Gumball stepped out with a bundle under his arm. Carrie watched him look around before spotting her and climbing the grassy hill towards her.

Carrie took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing, _she thought to Penny. Raising her arm, she waved to Gumball. "Hey, s'up?"

Gumball waved back. He patted the bundle under his arm. "I brought along a picnic and a blanket in case we wanted to, you know, lie down,or something." Gumball said nonchalantly and Carrie's eyebrows rose. She was more certain than ever that this wasn't Gumball.

"Lie down, huh?" Carrie chuckled sultrily. "That sounds interesting." Carrie was really laying it on thick. She couldn't afford to let Jealousy find out she was onto it, though so she committed to it. She could feel Penny's shock at her uncharacteristic behavior and mentally cringed. _Sorry_, she sent silently.

Returning her focus to Gumball, she was surprised to find him setting out a pretty good picnic. The bundle he'd grabbed turned out to be a blanket wrapped around a basket that he was unpacking. There was fried chicken, sandwiches, a salad, and even sparkling grape juice. Despite herself she was impressed and flattered. "Wow… when did you have time to put this together?" she asked.

Gumball shrugged. "When I got your text, I was kind of hungry, so I stopped by the mall and grabbed a few things real quick." He pulled out a couple of paper plates and held one out to Carrie. She accepted it and tucked her hair behind her ear as she folded her legs to sit on the checkered blanket he'd laid just under the forest's canopy.

Carrie watched as he poured a glass of juice for her. He handed her the cup, and offered her the basket of chicken. Once they'd both been served, Gumball just sat gazing at her. As Carrie took a bite of chicken, she noticed his disconcerting stare. Quickly swallowing the hot meat, she covered her mouth to ask, "What?"

"Nothing, I guess. I just never realized just how beautiful you are," Gumball said smoothly. Carrie couldn't help it, she blushed and smiled. Gumball must have taken that as an invitation, though cause the next thing she knew, his lips had found hers and he was kissing her.

She tried to push him off but the shock of having the boy she loved kiss her robbed her of strength and she melted into his embrace. _Carrie! You have to focus! Do you really want this if it's a lie? _Penny's thoughts snapped her out of it and she went intangible to escape. Or tried to, but Gumball held her fast.

Surprised, Carrie struggled in his grip. If her arms were free she would have face-palmed. She'd forgotten that he could touch her… Wait, what? She realized that his arms were free of the stripes that meant he was using his power. _He shouldn't be able to touch me right now! Help! _She sent a silent call to Penny.

An awful sound was coming from Gumball. It was like a maniacal giggle, but his voice was distorted and raspy. He released her with one hand and reached into the picnic basket, pulling out a rope that seemed to glow. Fear gripped her, but she seized the opportunity. She kicked him in the chest and jerked her arm to free herself. Gumball grunted when she kicked him and dropped her.

Carrie scrabbled at the ground, crawling away while struggling to gain her feet. She finally managed to stagger to her feet but she barely managed a step before her foot was jerked from underneath her. Gumball was dragging her backwards by the loop around her foot. The rope glowed intensely as she tried first to phase through it, the teleport.

Gumball grabbed her and forced her into a kneeling position, looping the rope quickly around her. With a jerk of the rope, she found her hands bound behind her and her head being pulled towards her knees, forcing it to the ground and her rump was pointed up into the air. Real terror gripped her when she heard Gumball undo his pants.

He ripped the skirt exposing her underwear with his claws and grabbed her panties to do the same. Carrie had tears streaming down her face as she begged, "Please, don't do this! Gumball, if you are in there you have to fight this! I know this isn't you!" The hands on her underwear released their grip and a new voice spoke.

"Oh, clever girl. You mean you knew the entire time it wasn't the boy?"

Gumball's feet appeared in front of her face and he crouched next to her. He loosed one bit of the rope and lifted Carrie to a kneeling position with a finger under her chin. Without warning he slumped to the ground and Carrie tried to process what she was looking at.

The ghost of a woman was staring at her with burning green eyes. Her long hair framed flawless pale features and her curvaceous figure was incredible. Carrie gaped at the incredible beauty of the woman who smirked and shook her head. "Really dear, I thought you might have done better than this if you knew."

Carrie was bewildered. "Who are you? Where is Jealousy? And what have you done to Gumball?"

The woman stared at her and began to laugh that same horrible distorted mad giggle Carrie had heard from Gumball. "You mean you were expecting someone else?" She laughed. "For a moment there I gave you too much credit." Her face contorted and she grabbed her head. She stayed crouched like that for a moment before she started to sing.

Carrie's memory suddenly sparked and she was suddenly in the arms the beautiful ghost woman. She was singing the same song while staring lovingly at her. But as she sang her face changed. Her eyes glowed green and as she bent toward Carrie, fangs appeared in her open mouth and Carrie was back in the woods staring with horror at the being before her.

The woman finally straightened up and returned her attention to Carrie. Carrie couldn't help it she had to ask, "YOU'RE MY MOM!?"

The spirit's eyes widened and she smiled maliciously, "Bingo! But you can call me Aretha, dear. 'Mom' makes me sound old."

"But why? Why would you do this? Did you think I would want this?" Carrie couldn't understand any of this least of all her mother attempting to… to rape her, worse still, using the only boy she had ever trusted. She couldn't help the tears of frustration and anger streaming down her cheeks.

The woman glared at her. "I am not really concerned with what you want," she snapped. "What I care about is making sure that this you and this boy produce an offspring for me. I need a soul without any memories and his genetic material to satisfy this accursed hunger."

Carrie recoiled as much as possible, bound as she was. "You were going to use him to _rape_ me and get me pregnant so you could take our child to eat!?" she whispered in abject horror.

Aretha tsked, as she picked up Gumball. "Not were, dear. Am. And I don't really have time to go into the why." She stepped into Gumball like she was putting on a jump suit. "With all the yelling we don't have much time and I really do need to get to business." Finished repossessing Gumball, she removed his underwear and jerked the rope binding Carrie, sending her face back into the dirt.

Carrie began sobbing uncontrollably as her mother slid one of Gumball's claws under each side of her panties and sliced the thin material, turning her underwear into an hourglass as it fell, leaving her bare. With her nether bits exposed, she felt hopeless to stop her mother's intentions. She felt Gumball's warm hands grip her waist and scrunched up her eyes in fearful anticipation of the terrible violation. It never came.

A furious roar rang out, and Carrie winced as she heard a resounding _SMACK!_ Suddenly she was in the air and flying off. She looked down to see Gumball slumped against a tree. Above her, cradling her trussed up body was Penny, beating the powerful wings of her dragon form to gain altitude and safety. Carrie sighed in relief and, unable to cope with everything, she promptly fainted.

Page Break.

Penny had was horrified when she realized that Jealousy intended to rape Carrie. She rushed to help her friend and was about to jerk the slimy blob from Gumball when he ceased his attack and spoke in a strange voice.

Penny remained invisible as Carrie's mother revealed herself and her plans, feeling the shock and horror Carrie was being subjected to and biding her time while she tried to figure out what she could do to save both Gumball and Carrie. She ran out of time though. When she saw the vile woman put on Gumball like he was a set of clothes and use his body to remove Carrie's underwear, she had to act.

She made a snap decision and in the blink of an eye, she had abandoned her invisibility and assumed her dragon form. As the being inside him positioned Gumball for the despicable deed, Penny spun and focused on immateriality. Her tail went right through Gumball and struck the spirit possessing him. Hard.

The ghost shot out of Gumball with such force that she disappeared into the forest, flying backward at an impossible speed. Even Gumball was sent flying, albeit a much shorter distance, to land more or less unharmed at the base of a nearby tree.

Penny wished she could carry them both, but she knew this form couldn't handle the weight of more than one person and judging from the state of Carrie's chaotic thoughts, she didn't think she would be able to help much.

Low on time, and sure that the older ghost would be back any second, Penny grabbed Carrie and took off. After she finished climbing, she leveled out and checked on Carrie. Aside from being naked from the waist down and unconscious, she seemed fine but Penny worried that she may not have been in time to prevent her from being violated. She hoped she'd made it and flew all the harder.

Penny's first thought was to get home, but thought better of it. Penny had to assume that this Carrie's mother had access to Gumball's memory. That meant that both she and Carrie's houses were out of the question. With a glance as Carrie's wardrobe situation, though, she decided a quick stop at Carrie's was necessary.

She spotted it below and dove, back-winging and dropping the final foot in her new base form. When she tried to go intangible, the rope binding Carrie glowed and Penny couldn't phase through the roof. Glaring at the ropes, she changed one hand into a serrated bony saw and made quick work of the twine while Carrie moaned, coming around. Her eyes fluttered open just as Penny cut the last of the rope from her.

Carrie burst into tears. Penny held Carrie and her temper as she focused on phasing through the roof and controlling their descent into the house the sobbing girl's attic room. She sat Carrie on the bed looked around the bedroom. Several punk rock poster's adorned the walls of her room but Penny was too busy to pay much attention to décor. Her eyes swept the room until they landed on Carries dresser.

Penny crossed the attic bedroom to the old peeling dresser. She paused when she got close enough to see the pictures scattered across the top. Gumball, Darwin and Carrie smiled out at her from most of the photographs. Any other time it might have been touching. Just now, Penny had a purpose. She dug into the drawers until she came up with two changes of cloths.

"Carrie?" Penny spoke very evenly and carefully. "We need to hurry. I understand what you've just been through, but I think she is going to know where we live. We need to get out of here. Do you have a bag I can put this stuff in?"

Carrie was sniffling but managed to point out a bag hanging on the back of her closet door. Penny grabbed it and stuffed the sets of cloths into it. She grabbed a pair of panties and some jeans and set them in Carrie's lap. "You need to put these on. I still need to grab some stuff from my place," she said softly and watched as Carrie mechanically put the clothes on.

Looking her over, Penny nodded and grabbed her hand, going weightless and floating towards the ceiling using the abilities Carrie taught her. Suddenly she felt Carrie yank her hand away and she turned to see her phasing through the floor. Sighing Penny chased after her, calling out to her mentally but all she got from the connection was anger and a steely determination.

Penny followed her all the way until she came to a halt in the den. Penny was struck by the size of Carrie's house. The vaulted ceiling and rustic lodge feel in the den was eerie when coupled with the various heads mounted around the room. Penny came to stand next to Carrie and followed her gaze to a vase above fireplace.

"What is that?" Penny said after a minute.

Carrie's anger was palpable at this point even without the link, but her answer was deceptively calm. "Those are my father's ashes. Considering his history, I feel fairly certain he will have some clue as to why my mother tried to…" Carrie didn't finish, just grabbed the vase and carried it upstairs.

She grabbed a pillow and wrapped it around the fragile urn and stuffed it into the bag while Penny held it open. Opening the front pouch, she stuffed a couple of books she pulled from beneath her mattress. When Penny raised a puzzled eyebrow, she smiled grimly and explained, "My spellbooks. Got a feeling they'll come in handy."

The sound of a car door slamming had the girl's staring wide eyed at one another. Penny rushed to the window and sure enough, Gumball was climbing the stairs and coming in through the door.

"Carrie! Carrie, are you okay?" Penny felt Carrie relax at the concern in his voice. Carrie was about to call out when Penny clamped her hand over her mouth.

_I don't trust this. Aretha was able to mimic his behavior pretty well. I think she can read his mind or something. We need to get out of here. _Penny thought furiously. She could feel Carrie's indecision and added. _Look, if it is him and he doesn't find us, no harm done. If it's her and we let her catch us…_

Carrie slowly nodded and together they floated silently up through the roof. Once outside, Carrie turned to Penny whispering, "Where to n-" Carrie's eyes bugged out and the next thing Penny knew, Carrie was hugging her. Carries thoughts burst into her head. _Why are you naked!?_

Blushing, Penny glanced down to find that her newer and more womanly figure was on display for the world, but for the efforts of Carrie. _Note to self, _she thought to Carrie, _clothes do NOT transform with you. _Penny immediately used her ghost abilities to turn invisible and Carrie released her.

They floated a few houses away and watched from their vantage point as Gumball came out of the house and shrieked inhumanly. Carrie grabbed Penny's hand when he got into the car and drove off in the direction of Penny's house.

"Well, so much for getting some clothes." Penny grumbled.

"Come on, I think I have something that will fit you." The two girls went back into Carrie's room and Carrie dug in her closet for a second. She finally came out with a blue tee and a pair of grey slacks, as well as a set of underclothes.

"The bra might be a little big, but everything else is about the same size," Carrie said apologetically.

Penny shrugged and dressed. She did have to pad the bra a little but otherwise, the clothes fit well enough. While she was pulling the shirt over her head, her stomach growled and she was reminded that she hadn't eaten since last night. She looked sheepishly at Carrie who burst out laughing.

Still laughing, Carrie beckoned to her as she went through the floor to the kitchen.

Penny sat down and watched Carrie move around a kitchen that looked like it was last updated 30 years ago. She fretted about the situation earlier. She had frozen, unsure what to do and had nearly let Carrie be…

"Don't worry about it." Carrie said answering her thoughts.

Penny looked at the floor. "Did it… uh did she…" Penny wasn't sure how to ask if she had been too late.

Carrie finished the question for her. "Was I penetrated?"

Flushing, Penny nodded. Carrie shook her head and Penny slumped in relief. "Oh, thank goodness," she breathed. Carrie finished and set two plates with two sandwiches and a tall glass of milk each. She also grabbed a big jar and set it next on the table.

"Bon' appetite," she said, and attacked her food.

Penny picked up one of the sandwiches and bit into it. The flavor exploded in her mouth. "Oh, wow! This is really good," she said around her mouthful.

Carrie ducked her head, swallowing the bite in her mouth. "If you like it you should try it when gumball makes it, it's his recipe. A BLT with a sauce he showed me. I like it so much I literally keep bacon ready in the fridge at all times." Penny gaped at her and she chuckled. "I had to beg for a week before he finally told me how to make it and then he had to show me how to build the sandwich properly before it tasted right."

"I wasn't even aware he could cook…" Penny trailed off remembering the bacon she burned for him yesterday. She cringed. "Does he cook a lot?"

It was Carrie's turn to stare at her. "The only reason he doesn't make straight A's in Home Ec is because he always fiddles with the recipes, almost always for the better. How do you not know this?"

Penny bit her lip. Due to cheerleading she had dropped Home Ec as an elective. She didn't even know that Gumball was in the class. "I had cheerleading; it was one or the other."

Carrie grinned. "You're loss. Dude's got talent."

Before she knew it the sandwiches were gone. She wiped up the last of the sauce with her fingers and licked them clean. She still felt a little hungry and looked hopefully at the jar Carrie had placed next to them.

Carrie followed her gaze and smiled. "Oh yeah I saved the best for last. Gumball's homemade double chocolate cookies. Except this time it's not just his recipe." She put an arm possessively around the jar and popped the lid. Her reverence was almost comical as she carefully handed a stack of 5 cookies to Penny and took an identical stack for herself.

_Geez, it's just a cookie, _she thought biting into the first one and immediately condemning the thought as blasphemy. She stared at Carrie who was slowly and deliberately chewing the bite she'd taken while her mouth had something akin to an orgasm. The cookies were the perfect texture with just the right amount of chips and sweetness combined with a buttery undertone that offset and complimented the slightly bitter taste of the semi-sweet chocolate.

Carrie was watching her and she gathered herself together. Penny fought the urge to gobble them down and took her cue from the other girl, slowly chewing and savoring Gumball's culinary triumph. On the last cookie, Carrie dipped it in her milk and Penny followed suite. The slight alteration brought new but equally delicious tones to the experience and Penny was at a loss.

"How on earth can he make a cookie do that?" Penny gasped at her friend.

Carrie smiled dreamily and shrugged. "Don't ask me, girl. I just strive to enjoy as much of his efforts as possible."

Penny drained her glass and gathered up the dishes. Carrie stood up and tried to get them but Penny shook her head. "What kind of friend would I be if I let you do all the work? Where is your dish washing detergent?" Carrie pointed out the section of cabinet that folded down to reveal a modern dishwasher.

"The detergent packs or in the cabinet next to it," Carrie said with a smile ate Penny's stare. "I know, the old looking décor got you, huh? It's shabby chic. My grandma likes it, and I don't mind 'cause it helps keep the old and haunted feeling."

Penny nodded seeing the house in a new light. After she loaded the washer and got it started she and Carrie headed upstairs. Just as they were climbing the stairs the lights went out. Eyes wide, they went upstairs and locked the door behind them. Downstairs, they heard footsteps.

Moving quickly, Carrie grabbed the pack with her clothes, spellbooks and dad. They were ready just in time. The sound of footsteps on the stairs were the only warning they had before Gumball crashed through the door, and landed in a heap on the floor. Picking himself up, he focused on Carrie and rushed at her.

Penny intervened with a length of the rope she'd cut off Carrie earlier and prepared in the hopes of capturing the malicious spirit with its own device. Now she used the noose she'd created to catch his foot and hastily wrapped the end around Carrie's bedpost while he lay dazed. Penny ran over and grabbed Carries and the two of them floated up through the roof. Almost.

Carrie was suddenly jerked down but this time Penny was ready. She held fast and pulled back. Looking over the back of her friend, she could see Gumball, his eyes burning green, holding with one hand on her ankle. His face was twisted into a mask of rage. His face further contorted as Penny and Carrie's combined efforts were slowly overcoming his.

Finally pulling Carrie free of his grip, she and Penny shot up through the roof, chased by Aretha's howl of fury. When Aretha started to come through the roof, Carrie grabbed Penny and shouted into Penny's mind _Teleport! Your house. NOW._

The ghost woman was speeding towards then and Penny just managed to wink out before she got caught.

_CRACK! CRACK!_

She popped in just above the hole that used to be her window. Carrie waved urgently. "Grab what you need and let's go. You only live three blocks away; it won't take her long to get here, even on foot."

Penny flew into her room and grabbed a couple changes of clothes and threw them into her bag. She also grabbed a stash of money she had under her mattress. After her preparations were complete she rejoined Carrie outside. Not comfortable staying where they were, they rose above the rooftops, floating away from Penny's house.

"Any thoughts on where to go?" Penny asked helplessly.

Carrie shook her head. "No clue. I can't think of any place to hide that I never told or showed Gumball…" She trailed off and her eyes widened.

"What is it?" Penny asked desperate.

"Gumball told me once about a time when Mr. Robinson was living in his attic," Carrie said slowly. "It's probably the last place she would look and we should at least have enough time to figure out our next move. I also intend to see what my dad can tell us." Carrie finished with a determined look.

"Alright, Gumball's house it–"

"I wouldn't recommend that." A voice spoke from a nearby tree and Penny screamed in surprise.

Carrie and Penny were stunned as a short pink bunny appeared out of the shadow of a tree below them. There staring up at them was Anais.

"Come with me," she said. "I have a space I'm renting nearby. In the meantime, you can get me up to speed on why my brother is acting like a lunatic."

Penny looked and Carrie and shrugged. Then they followed the bunny girl.

**Dug into my dark side for that one. Hope my writing wasn't too graphic or over the line. Let me know!**

**The recap: In the woods, Aretha, while possessing Gumball clearly prepares to rape Carrie. Carrie says she knows this isn't Gumball. Aretha shows herself. Carrie realizes that it is her mom. Mom takes control of Gumball to proceed with the deed but before she can start, Penny stops her. After that it's more or less safe to read.**


	11. The Ghost

**What is Anais up to? Where is she taking Penny and Carrie? OC's are not mine, Gumball is not mine. Only the plot is mine, and any coincidence with future or current shows is unintentional. Okay. Finally, after an incredibly long hiatus, I am back. Here is a tweak of my last chapter and I probably will end up tweaking chaps 8 and up too. But the grand news is that within a week you can expect me to hit you guys with at least a chapter or two. Moving on then.**

Anais stood on her tip toes and struggled to keep her eye open as the retinal scanner did its job. Tears welled up as the blue light validated her identity. She blew a raspberry and stuck her hands into the pockets of her lab coat, sparing a backward glance at the wide-eyed girls following her. "Never can get used to that blasted thing. Always makes my eyes water." She pulled a tissue from her pocket and scrubbed at her eyes.

For their part, her brother's friends / love interests were simply staring at her. She smirked and beckoned to them. "Come on ladies. It gets better further in," she said, leading them through the grey door and into the well-furnished interior.

Penny was the first to speak up, unsurprisingly. "What exactly is all this?" Anais wondered briefly if she meant the tasteful living space she's insisted on, or the whole special access secure facility thing. She bet on the latter. "A few years back, I filled out an aptitude test and sent it in with Darwin's name on it. I got a perfect score."

Anais rolled her eyes before she continued. "Principal Brown reported it and… well long story short, eventually they did find out it was me. At first, they tried to take me away but I was still only 4." Anais shook her head. The stupidity of her part time employers amazed her sometimes.

"So, I suggested this as a compromise. When the government has something they can't figure out, they bring it to me. In exchange I get complete autonomy and basically anything I want, as well as a tidy annual salary," Anais finished her explanation as she led the girls into her personal space. She smiled fondly at the posters of Daisy the Donkey on the wall but it was basically a copy of the room she had once shared with Gumball at her house.

Carrie looked around and immediately spoke up. "Why does it look like Gumball's room?"

Anais smiled. "We used to share that room. It helps me think to be somewhere that felt familiar."

Carrie wasn't satisfied yet. "Does your family know about this place? How did you know how to find us? And how did you know about Gumball?"

Anais sighed. She knew this was coming. She walked over to the desk and pressed a key sequence on the keyboard. Several monitors appeared out of the desk, many of them showing live feeds of various places around town. Among them were Carrie, Penny and Gumball's houses as well as most of their favorite hangouts.

Anais watched the girls faces darken while they processed the implications. They turned accusatory glares on her. "Yes, I have been spying on you. It has been a little pet research project of mine."

"What!?" Penny exclaimed with the expected outrage. "How long has this been going on?"

Anais looked at the ground embarrassed. "A little over 3 months now. Ever since I caught on that Carrie was hiding romantic feelings for Gumball, actually."

Now it was Carrie's turn to be embarrassed. "How did you know?"

Anais raised one eyebrow skeptically. "The better question is how does Gumball _not_ know? You have a decent poker face, but the second you thought he wasn't looking, you'd go all doe eyed," Anais said dryly.

Carrie turned a deeper shade of pink. "But why start recording us?"

Anais shrugged. "Curiosity mostly. I wondered how things would play out. Penny had dropped off the world as far as Gumball knew." She fixed Penny with a questioning expression, but the fairy girl just blushed a reddish orange and looked away.

Anais went on. "Then there was Carrie," she said turning her gaze to the other girl. "Despite knowing Gumball's feelings for Penny, you still chose to stay friends with him." Anais rolled her eyes. "And then you _never_ made a move. You had me baffled. I thought you had some sort of angle so I kept watching, but to no avail." She grinned mischievously. "But then! Then Gumball got hurt and suddenly you were both in the picture at the same time."

Penny crossed her arms. "So? What did you think we would do? Fight to the death?"

Anais just looked at her until she started to fidget. "Nope. I was expecting you to start sharing him," she finally said sarcastically. When Penny averted her gaze, she smirked. "Speaking of which, do you two have even the slightest clue as to the ramifications of the course you've committed to? In what circles do you believe such a thing would be accepted? How are you going to manage intimacy and children?"

Surprisingly, Carrie was the one who fielded her questions, her eyes flashing in anger at Anais's pointed questions. "First of all, we don't even know if this is something Gumball would be willing to be a party to, so commitment isn't even in it yet. Second, as I've said before, I don't care in the slightest what other's think. If it works for us, others don't even really need to know. As for sex or kids," Carrie blushed, "we are only 15. We have a few years to figure this stuff out – _if _Gumball is amenable."

Anais shook her head. "I don't mean to nay say. I just wanted to make sure you were walking into this with your eyes wide open." She paused. "The reality is this. At best, one of you will seem to be a hanger on to outsiders. At worst, a live-in mistress. It isn't an enviable position to be in."

Carrie squared her shoulders. "I can live with that."

Anais lifted an eyebrow quizzically. "And your children?"

Carrie looked like she'd been hit in the stomach. Obviously she hadn't considered that option. Even Penny looked disturbed. Anais felt for them, but she had decided that they need to confront these issues, and the sooner, the better.

Now Penny took up the fight, looking determined. "Our children would grow up as though they simply had two mothers. They would be _our_ children, not mine or hers."

Anais wasn't convinced but she let it drop. At least they seemed to be considering some of the problems with their proposition. Instead, she focused on the real reason she brought them here.

"Sounds like you have it mostly figured out," she said trying to sound impressed. "But this isn't why I brought you here," the pink bunny said briskly. "Now tell me what's going on with my brother."

* * *

Carrie was in the woods, her face in the dirt, the grit digging into her skin and her hands tied behind her. She knew without looking she was completely naked. Fear coursed through her and she panted, terrified. Blue feet walked pasted her face and tickled her memory, but try as she might, she couldn't remember this person. The figure was familiar, but alien, like seeing someone she knew through blurry windowpane. She struggled frantically to catch a glimpse of her attacker's face to no avail.

The footsteps moved behind her and large hands grabbed her hips. Terror pulsed in her head and she couldn't get enough air. Suddenly, a face filled her vision, glowing green eyes set in a pale face with a malicious sneer. "Take her!" the face shrieked. Time seemed to slow and Carrie felt her hips tugged backwards as the hands at her waist pulled their bodies together.

Carrie woke up screaming. She immediately reached between her legs, her hand becoming a barrier between her and the violation that was coming. When nothing happened and her mind took stock of her surroundings, she realized that it was all a dream. Shame and fear coursed through her. She put her head in her shaking hands and cried softly.

Before she realized it, Penny had surrounded her in a comforting embrace. Carrie pushed the other girl away gently and focused on concealing her feelings. "I'm fine." Penny just looked at her. The other girl's raised eyebrow twitched slightly and her gazed drilled into Carrie. The ghost girl sighed heavily and finally spoke, "I had a nightmare. I was tied up, naked, and alone with Gumball." The identity of the blurry figure was so simple now. "Then my mother's face appeared and…" Tears rolled down her face as she trailed off, unable to continue.

Penny's mouth tightened and the link between them burned with her anger. "I should have taken her out the second she tied you up."

Carrie shook her head and swiped at her eyes. "It mightn't have made a difference. I think you made the right decision to wait. It you hadn't, she might have taken us both down. She might have even done the same to you…" Carrie wrapped her shaking arms around her knees and wished for all the world that she could erase the helpless, powerless feelings threatening to swallow her. She had thought she was fine, but now she wasn't so sure. She couldn't stop shaking and the earlier and her nightmare played endlessly through her mind accompanied by the sickening question; could she have done something different?

The door to the room opened and Anais poked her head in. "What happened? What's wrong?"

Penny told her and Anais shook her head, a sad look in her eyes. She had been outraged and intrigued in turns while they'd told their tale, and Carrie had a feeling she hadn't heard the last of the little girl's piercing questions about Gumball's powers or she and Penny's new mental connection. Anais's curiosity was insatiable at times but her insight was keen, a fact that had Carrie fidgeting when the young rabbit finally spoke. "You've experienced an incredible trauma and are displaying classic symptoms of shock. Despite sustaining no physical harm, the damage to your psyche is evident. This may lead to the development of PTSD. I think the best thing you can do it talk about it."

Carrie shook her head too quickly; this wasn't something she was prepared to do just yet. She could feel Penny's disapproval and worry, but just then, she didn't care. "Nothing to actually talk about. I just wish I knew why this is happening. My father is no help at the moment," she grumped, gesturing at the urn on the nightstand. The girls silently regarded the mute urn.

After explaining the situation to Anais earlier, they had tried and failed to awaken her father. It wasn't uncommon that a ghost would sleep for several weeks, but nothing they'd done had woken the old man out of the urn.

The sound of someone clearing their throat cut through the silence. Her nerves frayed, Carrie could not help but scream at the sudden sound. Anais threw open the door and switched on the light. Carrie searched the room for the source of the voice and relief hit her like a ton of bricks.

There, reclining comfortably in midair and wearing the same crimson red shirt, tattered Greek fisherman's cap, and fur-lined seaman's coat he'd been wearing when he died was her father, Vladus Lovus Lokowitchki. He was the absolute picture of a salty seadog, but just then, Carrie thought he was the most wonderful thing she'd ever seen.

Tears filled her eyes and she flew across the room, throwing herself into his arms. She felt his arms encircle her, arms only she could feel, and she immediately felt safe and warm. She dried her tears as his gloved hands stroked her hair and his gruff voice soothed her. "Now, now. What's caused all this?" The old ghost asked with a smile in his voice.

Carrie sniffed, "I just met my mother, but she's awful! She wants to make me… conceive a child so she could-could eat it!" She couldn't restrain herself. She grabbed her father by the jacket. "What's the matter with her? Why is she doing this?!" Carrie was angry now. She wanted to know why any mother would try to do this to their child.

A shadow crossed her father's ghostly face. He slowly reached up and trailed his fingers across Carrie's cheek. Emotion filled his eyes as he dragged her into a fierce embrace. "I sorry!" he croaked, his voice cracking. "We just wanted to be able to have a child. So I used the spellbook to be able to touch a ghost."

Carrie pushed her father back at arm's length confused. "I already know this. I freed you from the cursed price you had to pay three years ago, with Gumball."

Anais gasped. "I'd forgotten that."

Vladus stroked his flowing white beard. "There's more to the story. Why don't you girls sit down and I'll fill you in."

Carrie floated backward and sat on the bed her attention transfixed on her father's face as Vladus began his tale, with much beard stroking and grand gestures.

* * *

_T'was 20 years ago I met her. I'd been traveling abroad, seeking my fortune for years. One night, my ship, The Fair Wind, ran aground on the rocks of a small island shrouded in thick fog. Now, mind you, uncharted islands were right up my alley, and after I made sure the boat was still seaworthy, I decided to explore the place. While I was trying to make fast, I spied a lighthouse on the hill, its light out. _

_Naturally, I was angry. If the lighthouse had been properly managed, this wouldn't have happened. After I had secured my ship, I marched myself up there and gave that door a pounding. No one answered, and when I finally pried the door open, I found it abandoned. _

_The place was covered in cobwebs and dust. As I peeked about, I heard a noise what sounded like a soft, sad sigh. SO, figuring there must be someone around the place, I began to search. I looked all over that light house but ne'er found a soul. HA. Good joke that, for t'was a soul I sought. Anyhow, the whole time I'm looking, the air seemed to get heavier and I felt unwelcome somehow. _

_Now I'm not oft given to flights of fancy, but I tell ya, I was starting to feel like I was being watched. I decided I'd had enough of the place and headed back for my boat. Just as I was about to shove off, lighting split the sky. Mind you, a ship is not the most comfortable place to be in the middle of a storm, and the nearest port I knew of was a day's sailin'. I had no option, it was the lighthouse or stormy seas. And the lighthouse didn't seem all that capable of killing me, but I've been wrong before._

_A few hours later, I was sitting comfortably in front of a fire, enjoying a bowl of soup while the storm hammered the island. I was still uneasy in the lighthouse, but I barricaded the doors and set up a simple camp in the kitchen on the bottom floor. Before long, I drifted off. Sometime in the night, I was awoken by a hushed and fearful voice._

"_Sir! Please you have to leave," the voice had an edge of fear to it and I was immediately awake. I sat up and just stared. A mirror hanging on the wall shone with an eerie light. Floating in that glowin' rectangle was just about the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. Now, I'd like to tell you we fell in love then and there, but that weren't the case. After I had gotten over the shock of seeing a ghost and one so pleasing to my eyes at that, I demanded to know where she expected me to go._

_The storm outside was in full swing and the wind howled mercilessly as the rain hammered against the lighthouse in thick sheets. But when I showed her the howler banging at her door, she only looked more frightened. She was insistent that I leave, but when I refused, she told me her story, hoping, I think, to get me to go. _

_Her name was Aretha and she had been the wife of the lighthouse caretaker 'bout a century ago. She and her husband had been tending the lighthouse for the summer, and were getting' ready to leave for the winter but the old winter caretaker hadn't arrived. After a couple of weeks without the man appearing, she and her husband had simply assumed that the old man had met with trouble and continued to take care of the tower._

_Now tending a lighthouse is a lonely affair, but Aretha had been happy, enjoying the extra time with her husband, as he spent the winter months manning a small fishing boat keeping him gone for weeks at a time. Yet, something was off about her husband. He started keeping the cellar locked and forbade her from entering. He would disappear for hours at a time, and he had turned angry, distant and . _

_Alarmed at this change in her husband, Aretha hatched a plan to find out what was in the cellar. Somehow, she was sure that it was the key to everything. Due to the winter caretaker's absence, they were in need of supplies, and her husband made plans to travel across the bay to a nearby port town as soon as the ice froze. She made a copy of the key he wore round his neck while he slept and bided her time. _

_Finally, the freeze came and her husband left, assuring her he would be carful on the ice and telling her he should be back by noon the next day. She waited until nightfall to be sure he was long gone. _

_Aretha crept to the door and silently unlocked it, unsure what dangers she might find, but determined to uncover the source of all this. Opening the door, she was greeted with a blast of frigid air and a cloying metallic odor. She descended the stairs to the cellar and finally discovered the truth. Her husband's body lay on an altar, surrounded by strange symbols. The symbols were the source of the freezing temperature, and the man's body was perfectly preserved, save for several strips of flesh missing from his body, the coppery smell of his blood pervading the room, despite the cold. _

_Now as you might imagine, she grieved for her husband, but she also was painfully aware that her time was limited. Whoever was posing as her husband would be back. She looked around the chilly room and quickly noticed a strange book on a podium in the center of the room. Strange symbols adorned the spine and both covers. The book lay open to a page about changing one appearance to look like another._

_She was disgusted to read the spell that allowed the imposter to assume her husband's appearance. A strip of the intended form's flesh, and he could look like the victim for a day. Flipping through the book, she found several other spells as terrible as the first. Determined to destroy the book, she headed for the stairs only to find the old winter caretaker sitting on them, gazing thoughtfully at her._

_He'd used some spell or other to alarm the door and another to return the moment the door was tampered with. He explained that he had never wished her to find out like this. But now everything would be fine. She would obviously be with him now, and forget her husband. She realized he was insane, and told him so, adding that she would rather die than ever be with him. Next thing she knew, she was dead. The old man had killed her with magic. But that wasn't the worst of it._

_After killing her, he cursed her to unrest ad bound her soul to him. She could not rest in her grave as other ghosts are allowed. Instead she was to live among mortals, and could not go further than a mile from him. Even after he'd died, she was trapped here, where he'd last drawn breath._

_I'll tell you, my heart went out to her, but it's what she told me next what froze my bones. The old sorcerer had a spell to return himself to life and had been waiting for some unsuspecting traveler to stay there. Wouldn't you know it? No sooner had she finished telling me than he showed up._

_It seemed pretty hopeless seeing on how I couldn't touch the bugger, but your mom, she helped me. She went inside me and solved that problem. We tussled for a bit, then he started firing off magic. Aretha borrowed some of my energy and started casting spells, too. I guess you can't spend that long around a mage without picking up a spell or two. After a little while, though, he was just gone, disappeared. _

_I still don't quite understand how we beat him, your mom said it had to do with limited energy and it being dangerous to cast spells as a ghost, 'cause they could completely consume you. In the end it was me, her and the sorcerer's book. Now, I wanted to destroy it, but Aretha, she said it was just a tool, that spells were neither good nor bad, only the folks what used 'em._

_We left that island behind, and sailed about for a while. We were a good team and amassed a fair fortune, what with your mother's spells and my swashbuckling. Before we even knew it, we grew to love one another which as you may have already guessed, presented a problem. We started looking for a way to consummate our love and found it in that book._

_Originally, it would have been OK, I think. I would have to spend the rest of eternity in a mirror dimension, but Aretha could go there so that was fine and I was in love. We went for it, and soon we began our lives as man and wife. But we yearned for still more. We wanted a child, and, again, the book held an answer. _

_A spell with the power to allow your mother to conceive and birth a living child, and the price was a mere eternity of gluttonous hunger. I was hesitant on this one. Now don't get me wrong, I wanted a child as much as she, but the price was on her alone to bear. I didn't think it was right that she face the cost alone. In the end, the book again held the answer and we contrived a way to share the cost, and while it saved us for a time, the price eventually caught up with us._

_The spell made her like you are now, a spiritborn. She could eat and reproduce. Her part of the price for her was an insatiable appetite. For me, I took on the greed of the curse. This was when I started snatching things, partially to help feed her appetite, partially to satisfy my own greed. It wasn't ideal, but it was a price we were willing to pay for the child we wished for – I wouldn't take it back for the world, you mark me on that, lass._

_I'll spare you the details, but eventually, Carrie was born, and we couldn't have been happier. Our joy was short lived, though. Aretha's hunger was driving her insane, and I had begun to be known as The Snatcher. One day, she took you and was gone, and all I had was a note that said she had to go or risk devouring my and our daughter's soul. I found out later that she had gotten ahold of your grandmother and used some of our fortune to buy the house you lived in then fled._

_As for me, well you know the rest. The greed consumed me and degenerated into that loathsome creature. But as for Aretha? I never saw her again._

Carrie couldn't believe it. Here, for the first time was her origin story and the explanation of her existence and it was an utter tragedy! She struggled with the knowledge that her very existence was the cause of all her parents' misery. Next to her, Penny grabbed her hand and she felt a wave of comfort wash over her from their bond.

"I can't help but wish I'd never been born, with this on top of everything else." Carrie breathed softly.

Her father's response was immediate and harsh. "Now, you listen here lass. Your mother and I made our own choices. That their conclusion lead to your birth is about the only really positive thing that came out of our selfish desires." The old sailor was incensed. "Don't ever blame yourself for the consequences of our actions."

Carrie was warmed by his words and Penny's constant comforting influence. He was right. This wasn't her fault, but she still had to deal with it. She considered the implications. "If mom is like me now, then what has she been doing all this time? Why come back now?"

Vladus looked troubled. "There have been rumors around the underworld of a huntress that devours the souls of unwary ghosts. Until now, I hadn't thought to make the connection, but it might be her. If that's the case, she is beyond hope."

Carrie was starting to put a picture together. She grabbed her backpack and pulled out one of her books. She opened the decrepit tome to a bookmarked page and read. "Reaper – these dangerous spiritborn feed directly from living beings. This feeding method is accomplished via possession where upon the spiritborn feed directly on the host's living soul." Carrie pause to look at the faces surrounding her. _Gumball, _she thought, _please be OK._ She continued, "… comes with a price as the soul fragments they consume merge with their own consciousness, causing torment, pain, and eventual madness."

Penny and Anais wouldn't meet her gaze and she knew they were thinking the same thing she was. How were they supposed to beat her? Anais finally spoke up. "Why is she so fixated on Gumball though?"

Carrie gasped. That was it. Gumball was the key to all this. Funny how often that happened. "Its because of his power."

Anais blinked. "What good is super speed that makes you really hungry? Won't that make things worse?"

"No I mean the energy pool inside him. It's like an ocean of energy. And it's ectoplasmic based. That means it's something she could eat… If she could eat a soul with that much power she might actually be able to counter the curse!" Carrie declared triumphantly.

Anais cut the theory down though. "If that was all it took, she would just eat Gumball's soul. Obviously, I don't think she has or this whole scenario wouldn't even be necessary, but the question remains why not? All that power just within reach and she doesn't take it to end her suffering?"

Penny had her own question. "How would that end her suffering? Doesn't the book say that would cause pain and madness to eat the soul of a living being?"

Anais's eyes grew wide as she regarded the orange fairy. "Guys, what would happen if she ate the soul of an infant spiritborn that housed an energy pool as large as Gumball's?" She went on, not bothering to let anyone get a word in. "Without any memories or a developed consciousness, there would be minimal effect. That's why she hasn't eaten Gumball! She is trying to avoid the torment such a meal would entail."

Carrie's relief and happiness at Gumball's safety mingled with the pity and horror she felt at her mother's fate, as well as the disgust that filled her when she considered Aretha's plan for an end to her curse. She wished she had the book so she could find a way to reverse this like she did for her father…

"What the what?!" Carrie quoted her favorite blue cat unconsciously as a surprising thought hit her. "When I freed you from your curse, Gumball and Darwin had cast several spells. When the book was destroyed, the prices they'd paid were reversed just like yours. Why didn't that happen to Mom?"

Her father stared at her, dumbfounded. Anais and Penny were staring too. She wondered vaguely if they were thinking the same things she was. If her mother's curse was lifted, why was she still hungry? Why had she attacked Carrie? Carrie put her head in her hands and sighed. She thought she had gotten an answer only to find a bigger mystery.

_Well almost, _she thought, making up her mind. She didn't know what was going on with her mom, but she had learned one thing – her mother had loved her and done everything she could to ensure Carrie was in a safe and happy place when she was a baby.

"Listen guys," She said, turning to the girls. "I intend to get to the bottom of this. Gumball comes first, but if possible, I want to save my mom. Maybe it's possible, maybe not, but I have to try."

Anais shrugged. "It's not really like you have a choice. She is just going to keep coming after you until you defeat her or…" The blunt young bunny trailed off and looked away when Carrie turned to glare at her.

"Well, I'm with you," Penny rose to her feet. "I can't leave you now, can I? Besides, mom or not, Aretha has things to answer for." the girl said quietly in a way that made Carrie very glad Penny wasn't her enemy. Carrie was grateful.

"Well if you two are going to be taking on some centuries old magic ghost, you better have a good plan," Anais said with a roll of her eyes. "Give me that book. And get some sleep. I need to find out as much as I can about what you are if we are going to stand a chance and that will take time." The little bunny girl spun and left.

Carrie watched her go as Penny suited actions to words and climbed back into bed. Carrie turned back to her father to thank him for sharing the story, but he was nowhere to be seen. She leaned in close to the urn and could hear his groggy murmurs. She smiled and climbed into bed. "Goodnight Penny."

"Goodnight Carrie." Came the answer. Then the girls fell into a deep dreamless sleep. Carrie's final thought before she was enveloped in warm darkness was of Gumball and how far she would go to retrieve him.

**I am sorry for my long absence. If you've checked my profile, you may know that I've spent the last year basically homeless. I am trying to support my family, but keep losing jobs I need. And the hours have been murder.**


	12. The Experiment

**Only the plot is mine, and any coincidence with future or current shows is unintentional. Okay. Finally, after an incredibly long hiatus, I am back. I already tweaked Chapter 11 and I probably will end up tweaking chaps 8 and up too. ****I am sorry for my long absence. If you've checked my profile, you may know that I've spent the last year basically homeless. I'm trying. And here is the new chapter. Gumball is possessed and Carrie and Penny have no idea what to do. Has Anais found a clue that might help them or is Carrie doomed to suffer an awful fate?**

Gumball woke up with a start. Fear was raw in his mind as he looked around, getting his bearings. The double king bed he shared with Carrie and Penny spread out around him, the two women snuggled up to either side of him. Carrie was gazing at him concernedly.

"What is it, Baby?" she murmured sleepily.

"Nothing. Just a bad dream." Gumball whispered as he used one hand to tuck her bangs behind her left ear. The action soothed him somewhat. It _seemed_ familiar…

"Aww", Carrie cooed, grabbing her pillow and nuzzling into it as she looked up at him. "What about?"

Gumball opened his mouth to answer and found he couldn't. Try as he might, he could not recall even a scrap of the dream that had seemed so vivid to him only moments ago. Something about that seemed wrong, but he couldn't figure out what. Despite a growing sense of unease, he smiled ruefully down at the ghostly woman sharing his bed and looking so expectantly up at him. "I don't even know now." Gumball shrugged. "Whatever it was, it's gone now."

Carrie gaze turned sympathetic and she stroked his arm comfortingly. "Sleep now, babe. I will guard your dreams with a little spell." Carrie waved her hand and muttered some words. The room seemed to flicker and for an instant Gumball could remember the dream in its entirety or rather the _reality_. Terror strangled him anew as everything winked out except the ghost woman in front of him. _That isn't Carrie. _

The thought roared in his mind. Before he could react, everything was back the way it should be. He was still gripped with terror but he didn't know why. The dream was gone and all he could remember was that he had remembered and suddenly forgotten the dream. Carrie didn't seem to notice as she finished her spell and Gumball's unease melted away.

"Now, now", the spiritborn crooned at he as he relaxed and snuggled down sleepily between the women he loved. "You get some sleep. Everything will be better in the morning." The last thing Gumball saw and thought before he drifted off was the strange green glow in his partner's eyes and the fleeting thought that Carrie's eyes were grey…

PAGEBREAK

Anais woke Carrie and Penny early the next morning. She had been up the rest of the night poring over the decrepit tome she had received from the ghost – spiritborn she corrected herself. After an evening of study, she thought she had some answers but still more questions had surfaced and she needed a sounding board. True, older girls weren't nearly as intelligent as Anais herself, but they were both still highly intelligent and their input had already proven useful.

After the two had groggily dragged themselves out of bed and covered their morning essentials, the three girls sat down in Anais's study.

"I really wish we still had your father here, Carrie. I have several questions that are begging for answers and I think his expertise would be welcome." The diminutive girl sighed heavily, "Still, I _have_ come up with a couple of discrepancies. First is that what your mother is supposed to have done shouldn't even be possible to begin with. Spiritborn cannot feed on free spirits or ghosts. The have a tie to the spirit realm that supplies them with ectoplasmic energy. This very tie means that they cannot run out of energy like a body bound spirit would. They would simply restore their lost energy and any energy removed from them would revert to pure ectoplasm." Anais paused, relieved to see for once that her audience didn't seem the least bit confused.

"However, this brings up another discrepancy." Anais took a breath before rushing on. "This means that when the spirit of the sorcerer in your father's story was casting spells he can't have simply used himself up. His own tie to the spirit realm would have prevented that."

Here, Penny broke in. "Then what happened to him? How could he have just vanished?"

Smiling at her perceptive visitor, Anais tapped the side of her nose. "I have a theory, but I can't be certain, you know? And so I have a little experiment I want to try. Carrie?" The pale girl sat up straighter when called on.

"Yes?" she asked simply.

"Is there any chance you have a ghost friend you can bring here? Maybe two?" Anais leaned forward eagerly.

"I do have a spook or two who owes me a favor… why?" Carrie tilted her head slightly in confusion.

Anais rubbed her hands sinisterly while giggling for all the world like an innocent little girl the effect was…disturbing. "I would like to try and recreate the circumstances in your father's story. I believe that your mother was possessed by the old mage's ghost."

Carrie was obviously floored. "How could that even be possible? Ghost can't even phase through one another. We can't get inside one another."

"I think it has to do with the fact that she was already inside your father", Anais said, "but even then, I don't think it was immediate. I think it was kind of like your own experience together. The book", Anais patted the tome she referenced, "listed a few dos and don'ts. One of the biggest is never attempt to possess someone who is already possessed. It doesn't specify exactly what happens but does reference that it could lead to madness and abomination. When you tried to link with Penny she almost absorbed your consciousness, correct?"

Carrie nodded slowly, her face brightening as she picked up the younger girl's thought track. "So you think the magician was absorbed into my mom?" Carrie's face darkened. "But how could you even begin to safely test that? That could put one of my friends in danger." Carrie was angry now. Anais hurried to reassure her.

"Actually, you yourself would need to be the one to take that risk." Anais said calmly. "Due to your link with Penny and the G-energy you possess; I believe you have a measure of protection against it happening completely. But it would still try and you would still know whether it happened."

Carrie swallowed audibly. "You mean… me? But what if I get absorbed?"

The little pink bunny sighed. "Look I didn't say this was without danger. But it _is _a dual purpose experiment. I also think that your unique situation will allow you to expel the present occupant of a body."

Now she had the girls' full attention. Penny's voice quavered slightly as she asked the question plain in both their eyes, "You are talking about a way to save Gumball?"

Anais nodded curtly, her own anger at this situation barely held in check. "But first I need to know. And you might need practice. So call in your favors, Carrie. And I really hope they are game for it."

Determination was etched into every line of Carrie's face. "I know just the guys."

PAGE BREAK

Carrie opened her eyes. She was lying on her back, the fluorescent lights of Anais's lab hitting deep in her head and causing an explosion of pain. She immediately closed her eyes and rolled over to clutch her legs into the fetal position, groaning.

"I am telling you, I almost couldn't pull her back that time!" Penny furiously shouted at Anais. Over the last few hours, they had confirmed Anais's theory. No sooner did she try to take possession of the little girl than she was yanked toward the consciousness of the ghost already there. She had been unprepared for it the first time and had nearly lost herself.

In the several tries since then, they had done little except struggle to keep her from sinking forever into the mind of the thrill-seeking parachutist she'd dug up to help them out. She chuckled at her own joke, but immediately regretted it as the vibration shot splinters of pain through her head again.

The light she was trying to shut out dimmed somewhat. She didn't have to crack her eye to know it was Penny standing over her, the concern flowing through their link clearly etched on her face. She also knew the other girl was winding up to tell her that they should stop.

When Penny opened up her mouth she couldn't even take a breath to speak before Carrie's hand was up, halting what she wished to say. Carrie didn't bother to speak. That would have hurt anyway. _I will rest for five minutes and we try again._

_But, _came the thought reply and Carrie squashed it. _I _will **not**_ give up while I still think I can try again._ Her vehemence stung the other girl and Carrie flinched inwardly but refused to back down. _This may be the only way to save him. Please. One more time._ She mentally pleaded with her friend.

Penny's eyes tightened, but she finally nodded, walking off to tell Anais while Carrie relaxed for a few minutes. That last failure _had_ almost taken her. She lay with her eyes closed, going over it again.

She started the possession. There was an instant where she encountered resistance before she slipped inside. But this wasn't like being inside a person normally would be. She was inside the other ghost. Then, just as with Penny, she was dragged with incredible speed into his consciousness. Penny would feel her terror and she would yank on their link. Pressure would build on her until she finally would pop free. It had been that way every time.

Lifting her arm at the elbow she slammed her fist on the floor, frustrated. _THINK! _She shouted at herself. If only there were a way enter the body without entering the other ghost. But that wasn't possible. When a ghost possessed a person they filled most of that person. The resident soul sort of got squished to the side, and the occupying spirit gained control of the body.

_Well how is it that the other soul and the ghost don't meld like me and Penny?_ She wondered. Sitting up she called out to Anais.

"I need to try possessing you a couple of times without him." Carrie said slowly. "I need to figure out how this is different from possessing a person regularly." Anais nodded and the other ghost got out.

Carrie took a deep breath and slid into the girl paying very careful attention to Anais's soul as it moved to accommodate her. The wall or membrane around Anais's spirit was flexible but strong and Carrie was surprised to note that the entire soul scrunched up into the brain. If she pressed into that membrane, she knew she could easily get through it but then she was risking being swallowed by Anais's mind.

An idea slowly took shape here. Maybe she could make her own membrane stronger? She could obviously control her membrane with respect to the physical world. Why not this mental landscape?

Concentrating, she focused on being tangible mentally, as weird as that idea was. But it seemed to be doing – well something. Something felt different. Signaling Penny to be ready, she breached Anais's mind/soul, bracing herself for the dragging, pulling sensation she knew was coming…

Nothing. Carrie floated in Anais's mind and could feel the girl's approval. In her exhilaration, her concentration slipped momentarily and Anais's mind clamped down on her like a vise. She could feel Penny pulling, feel that pressure, but this time she didn't budge. She started to panic but something stopped her.

She was suddenly very angry. Angry at her parents for creating this situation, angry at herself for her own weakness. She was not about to let herself become a blimp in some little girl's head. Focusing the intensity of her emotion, she reestablished her border and thrust back against the force crushing her down. The result was a shock to everyone.

PAGE BREAK

Penny tugged again at the bonk connecting her to Carrie. She could feel the other girls fright and she was frantic when her efforts failed. Carrie's feelings stopped for a moment and the shapeshifter feared the worst. Suddenly, three things happened almost simultaneously. Anger singed across the link, Anais's soul rocketed out of her body like a shot and Carrie's voice erupted out of the bunny girl's body in a violent scream.

"NO!" The blast of noise went beyond what a person should be able to do and Penny was literally knocked off her feet.

Everyone was picking themselves up to stare at Carrie/Anais. Anais had struck the far wall and given that her spirit was only loosely held together ectoplasm, the splatter she had become was slowly separating itself from the wall.

Carrie as Anais was simply staring at her hands with a triumphant look on her face. One that hardened to fierce determination. She got up and walked over to Anais's spirit, grabbed her hand and somehow pulled her back into her own body. After a moment, Carrie slipped out of the other girl's body, a grim look of satisfaction on her face.

"One more time with the full thing', she said simply. And for once, the parachute guy didn't look thrilled at all.

Penny could feel the confidence rolling off her friend and was ready but didn't think she'd be needed. Sure enough, as the form of her friend slid into the possessed body of Anais, she felt the calm as her friend was immersed in the other spirit's consciousness. Penny felt herself tugged into the other girl's mindscape and she momentarily panicked.

Carrie soothed her, her calm thoughts washing away the fear. _I need you to know how to do this._ She thought at Penny continuing before Penny could even ask why. _Whichever one of us gets the chance should do it- no hesitation._

Penny swallowed and nodded, listening and practicing what Carrie showed her. She quickly learned how to maintain her own border, and it wasn't long before she joined Carrie physically. The two of them floated calmly in the other ghost's psyche.

Confident that she could handle this, Penny linked back together with Carrie for the push lesson. _It's kind of like flicking something with your finger. _Carrie's thought came into her mind. _You push with your mind but hold it back at the same time building up the power until you let it go all at once._

Suiting action to words, Carrie thrust hard and Penny and the parachutist were shoved out of Anais. Carrie reappeared moments later as the other two were picking themselves up.

After a few more run-throughs, Anais announced they were ready. But it was nearly dusk and Penny was pretty sure her dad was going to blow a fuse if she didn't check in soon. It was agreed that the safest place for Carrie was with Anais.

One phone call later, Penny had managed to clear another night at "Carrie's house". Hanging up the phone, she turned to find Anais regarding her with a blank expression.

"Thanks for calling my dad last night." Penny offered nervously. "I didn't even think about it and you really saved my hide."

The young rabbit regarded her levelly. "You are still a mystery to me." She heaved a sigh. "How on Elmore did you even come into the idea to share him?"

The girls gaze boring into her, Penny could only fidget. Finally, she found the words. _Geez, this kid makes me so nervous. "_It was Sarah. Her crush on Gumball and Darwin at the same time intrigued me and Gumball put the name to it." Penny scuffed her shoe at the floor. "It was so completely alien at first I immediately dismissed it. But the things I had experienced in Carrie's head and afterwards when we became linked."

"What about that rage that had your throwing most of the contents of your room halfway across town?" the young rabbit asked her stare intent on Penny.

Now Penny flushed, embarrassed. "Even more so because of that. I tasted her pain for a few hours and look what it reduced me to. If anyone deserves to be with the one she loves, that girl should." Penny sighed. "I hope I can be as gracious as her in the future."

Anais shook her head. "I don't think she is quite the saint you make her out to be. Nor do I believe that she is any more deserving of fulfilment than you are. I think that were she truly unselfish she wouldn't even have been around for you to compare yourself to."

Penny turned thoughtful. Anais had a point. Carrie was just a girl like her. Just a girl hoping that she could be with the man she loved. And why not? Surely men could accommodate multiple women. It was more likely that women simply could not accommodate one another. Which meant that the only real obstacles to a life together would be her and Carrie.

"I thank you for your input, Anais. And while it is enlightening, don't think it changes how I feel. Nor does it mean I would abandon my goal." Penny squared her shoulders proudly. "Even if she isn't a saint, she's no different than I am. Just a woman wishing for a life together with the man she loves. Why should I deny her when we could both achieve what we want?" Penny finished defiantly.

Anais nodded, seeming satisfied. "I just thought you seemed to be ducking your head to her a bit too much." The girls grin was slow and smug. "If you truly want to be equals in love you must be equals period. Now go get that girl and get yourselves to sleep. Tomorrow…" Anais trailed off ominously.

**Ok, roughed it out and thought I would throw it up as a taste while I clean it up. But not tonight it past midnight and I've been typing like a madman for three hours to put this out. Let me know how you like it!**


End file.
